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Peaceblinkfriend Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

"...second-guess" "...foggiest idea..." "...going/ \immediately" Thank you.

0 Considering these sentences. 02br
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001. "You always second-guess me!" Is it natural to say this? 02br
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002. "I have not the foggiest idea about the time of the rehersal." Does this sound natural to you? What happens if I say 'don't have' instead of 'have not', 'clue' instead of 'idea', 'as to' instead of 'about'? 02br
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003. 00When you get home you'r00e 01span00going immediately02span00 to bed. Should I say 'immediately going' instead of 'going immediately' ? 02br
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00Thank you for your help. 02br
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00Best wishes,02br
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00PBF02br
00 0-
  

Top answer

0 01blockquote 01cite 10Peaceblinkfriend12cite 10Considering these sentences. 12br 12br 101. " Is it natural to say this?

— Spectacled-Girl

  • 0 01blockquote 01cite 10Peaceblinkfriend12cite 10Considering these sentences.
  • 12br 12br 101.
  • " Is it natural to say this?
  • 11font 10No, I don't think so.
  • 12br 12font 12br 102.
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10 Answers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Peaceblinkfriend12cite10Considering these sentences. 12br
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101. "You always second-guess me!" Is it natural to say this? 11font10No, I don't think so. It sounds odd to me.12br
12font12br
102. "I have not the foggiest idea about the time of th
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Peaceblinkfriend12cite10Considering these sentences. 12br
12br
101. "You always second-guess me!" Is it natural to say this? 11font10Yes, you can say that.12font12br
12br
102. "I have not the foggiest idea about the time of the rehe11font
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Yankee12cite101. 11b11i10"You always second-guess me!"12i12b10 Is it natural to say this? 11font10Yes, you can say that.12font12br
12blockquote
10So, can I use the bolded (or should I say 'bold'?) sentence in my composit
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0 Hi SG02br
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00That sentence is absolutely correct, but you can't use it just anywhere. The context has to be appropriate. People would say or write PBF's sentence as a complaint about constantly being criticized or corrected.02br
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0500240hrefhttp://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=second-guess&r=66csecond-guess
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0Thanks Yankee for your help. 050010id1
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0 1. Sounds natural to me.02br
00 2. Sounds unnatural to me, but not for the same reason as Yankee gives.02br
00 It's clearly an expression more often heard in conversation than seen in writing, so contractions should be used to make it sound more natural.02br
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01i00I haven't the foggiest idea ...02i00 has a slightly Briti
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0 It's interesting that you wouldn't use "notion", Jim. Maybe it 01b00is02b00 regional. I'd tend to use 'slightest' with the word 'idea'. 02br
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00I'd be most likely to use "I haven't got (the foggiest notion)" or "I don't have (the foggiest notion)". What would sound "British" to me would be "I haven't the foggiest" (i.e. haven't + the foggiest,
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0Thank you for all your replies, Yankee, CalifJim and Spectacled-Girl. 05002br
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00It is interesting to see that even in a country, expressions vary from one place to other. 02br
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00Best wishes,02br
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00PBF010id1
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0 Hi PBF02br
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00Yes, it is interesting, isn't it. I didn't have the slightest idea that "I don't have the foggiest notion" wasn't commonly used in California. 05002br
00Another interesting piece of information is the fact that the Cambridge Dictionary lists "the foggiest notion" as an American idiom. Maybe they should have listed it as "partially American
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0Yes, I agree with you. I just looked at a map and found out that Connecticut is at the very east of America while California is at the very west of America. No wonder that expression is not commonly used in California. Perhaps some expressions are widely used in California but are never heard of in Connecticut. 05002br
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00Best wishes,02br
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00PB
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