surely

From the context, I think the speaker is sexually attracted to Sonia.

Hi,

Roughly speaking, it means I have plans for . . .

eg I have designs on Sonia

but also eg Ihave designs on the last doughnut on the plate.

Hi, Clive

I was thinking about the response too. ("Surely she is married already?")



The last donut sound

To say "surely" at the beginning of a sentence is basically asking for confirmation of something they already know. "Surely she is already married....?" "Surely it's Wednesday that the delivery is coming?" "Surely you're not going to say that to her....?"

Please .......

I am very grateful to your replies, and I thank you all; however, the question still remains: what does B

TidusTo say "surely" at the beginning of a sentence is basically stating something that the person thinks already but isn't 100% positive off.

Hi Tidus

You edited your post?

Why still is the question mark there?

thanks

Inchoateknowledge

Tidus
To say "surely" at the beginning of a sentence is basically stating something that the person thinks already but isn't 100% positive off.

Hi Tidus

You edited your post?

Why still is the question mark there?

thanks

It's properly edited now - I just th

Am I right in thinking that the question mark is there to make the statement more tentative than it is already?

thanks

not really. I've had a look at my dictionary for a better explanation and it says that "surely" is used as an expression of surprise. This is better than my explanation. So, someone might say "I've just resigned from my job" and the reply might be "Surely not?"

So, I'm correct with my previous explanation, but there's also an element of surprise. So, in the case of Sonia, to say "S

So the question mark comes with the 'package' of its grammar?