Hello, all!

Aqui vem mais um podcast, dessa vez falando sobre a palavra DOUBT. Ouça e veja como dizer coisas assim:

* Eu tenho uma dúvida.

* Quando você não tiver certeza…

* Sem sombra de dúvida.

Transcrição

Hi, this is Ana Luiza with a new episode of inglesonline podcast. To read the transcription of this podcast, go to inglesonline.com.br and look up the post Como digo em inglês: eu duvido, posted on December 21st 2009.

Today I’m going to talk about the word doubt, d o u b t, and a few common ways to use this word. The inspiration came from… You guessed it, Twitter. What can I say? I love Twitter.

So this word, doubt, came up last week when I gave my twitter followers this tip: when you’re in class, don’t raise your hand and say ‘I have a doubt’. One thing you can say is I have a question. It’s easy to think that ‘I have a doubt’ would be the correct thing to say. Because… after all, in Portuguese we say Eu tenho uma dúvida. But doubt isn’t used that way. If you say that in class, people will probably understand you, but it will sound strange.

And the reason for that is that in English, the word doubt has to do with uncertainty, indecision, or disbelief – disbelief is the state of not believing something. The word doubt does not have to do directly with not understanding something, which is usually the reason why we ask a question.

So you raise your hand, and you say I have a question. Or you could say I would like to ask a question.

So, for example, you can say “I doubt it” when someone tells you that something is going to happen, and you don’t believe it. Someone tells you Brazil is going to win the next World Cup – you could say I doubt it. That means you don’t believe it. You have serious doubts about Brazil’s ability to win the next Cup. So you say I doubt it.

Or someone may ask you, “Are you going to that birthday party on Saturday?” And you say, “Oh, I doubt it. I have an exam on Monday and I have so much work to do, I have to study, so I doubt that I’ll be able to go to the party”. In this case you really don’t believe that you’ll be able to go to the party, right… You really think that it will not be possible. So you say, I doubt it.

So here’s a very common expression with the word doubt. I’m gonna give you an example with this expression: Let’s say you’re in a museum and you see a wonderful painting and you say, This is, without a doubt, the most wonderful painting I have ever seen. Without a doubt… it’s like, sem sombra de dúvida in Portuguese. So, without a doubt that is the most wonderful painting I have ever seen. People also say without doubt. I, myself, prefer without a doubt.

So here’s another common expression. I’ll give you an example. Let’s say someone is giving you instructions on how to take the subway, and this person tells you: always consult your subway map first before you take the subway to go somewhere. And, when in doubt, ask someone for help.

So, “when in doubt” here means, when you’re still not sure, if you have consulted the subway map but that wasn’t enough, you’re still not confident which train you should take… when in doubt, ask someone to help you. In Portuguese that would be something like, se você ainda não tiver certeza.

So leave a comment and tell us, where could you use the expression Without a doubt in your life? Do people around you believe something while you have serious doubts about it? This is Ana Luiza of Inglesonline.com.br . See you next time.

 

P.S. When in doubt também representa o nosso “Na dúvida…”

 

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