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 #2 (permalink) Mon Jul 04, 2005 17:00 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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This means that is definite.
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Alan
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| #3 (permalink) Wed Jan 28, 2009 16:00 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Why not absolutely ?
because absolutely means for sure !!
Please I need your help.
Thanks in advance |
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 Wms
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| #4 (permalink) Wed Jan 28, 2009 16:29 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Options (a), (b), and (d) would be completely interchangeable in this format, for example:
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Absolutely!
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Positively!
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Definitely! |
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Esl_Expert
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| #5 (permalink) Wed Jan 28, 2009 17:24 pm Surely.. it is definitely... |
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| Esl_Expert wrote: |
Options (a), (b), and (d) would be completely interchangeable in this format, for example:
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Absolutely!
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Positively!
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Definitely! |
As Mr.Alan said, definitely is appropriate, I am sure..!!
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| #6 (permalink) Wed Jan 28, 2009 18:16 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Hello Sahid,
You might have noticed that Wms asked a question. I provided examples of how absolutely, positively, and definitely could be used interchangeably in a particular context.
All three of those words can be used as affirmative responses (instead of simply saying "yes"). In the context I provided they would also indicate that the speaker is very sure.
Are you also absolutely certain?
By the way, another way to word your sentence would be this:
"I am positive."
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| #7 (permalink) Wed Jan 28, 2009 21:12 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Hi Wms,
The whole point is that 'for sure' suggests that you are confirming something and that's why the appropriate adverb is 'definitely'. The other adverbs are more of a general nature expressing more the idea of reassurance and are not therefore interchangeable, as has been suggested.
Alan
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| #8 (permalink) Thu Jan 29, 2009 7:00 am Meaning of 'for sure' |
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| Esl_Expert wrote: |
Hello Sahid,
You might have noticed that Wms asked a question. I provided examples of how absolutely, positively, and definitely could be used interchangeably in a particular context.
All three of those words can be used as affirmative responses (instead of simply saying "yes"). In the context I provided they would also indicate that the speaker is very sure.
Are you also absolutely certain?
By the way, another way to word your sentence would be this:
"I am positive."
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Hello Esl_Expert,
Thanks for your follow-up. The Merriam-Webster discitonary has the following synonyms for 'sure'
certain , positive , cocksure mean having no doubt or uncertainty. sure usually stresses the subjective or intuitive feeling of assurance <felt sure that I had forgotten something>. certain may apply to a basing of a conclusion or conviction on definite grounds or indubitable evidence <police are certain about the cause of the fire>. positive intensifies sureness or certainty and may imply opinionated conviction or forceful expression of it <I'm positive that's the person I saw>. cocksure implies presumptuous or careless positiveness <you're always so cocksure about everything>.
So I take it that we can use certainly as well as definitely..for "making sure".
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| #9 (permalink) Thu Jan 29, 2009 16:34 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Hello Sahid,
The words "certainly" and "definitely" are both adverbs. "Making sure" is not an adverb, and it is not clear to me what you are trying to ask.
Have you also checked a dictionary for the definition of the idiomatic verb phrase "make sure"? You will find one definition here:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=make+sure&r=66
("Make sure" is definition #14, which happens to be right after a definition of "for sure".)
You can use both "certainly" and "definitely" to make a prediction stronger or very sure, for example:
1. That will certainly happen. (= That will surely happen.)
2. That will definitely happen.
The second sentence (with "definitely") strikes me as being the stronger of the two.
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As regards the words from the test, I used those words emphatically in my examples. They were used as responses that strongly affirm and/or confirm something. Here are some additional comments on my usage examples:
| Quote: |
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Absolutely! |
In this context, you might reword the response "Absolutely!" this way: "Yes, I am absolutely sure that will happen." In other words, the speaker is telling the other person that it will happen for sure.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=278&dict=CALD
| Quote: |
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Positively! |
In this context, you might reword the response "Positively!" this way: "Yes, that is positively what will happen. There is no doubt in my mind about that." In other words, the speaker is telling the other person that it will happen for sure.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=positive*1+0&dict=A
| Quote: |
Q: Are you sure it will be delivered on Thursday?
A: Definitely! |
In this context, you might reword the response "Definitely!" this way: "Yes, that is definitely what will happen." In other words, the speaker is telling the other person that it will happen for sure.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=definite*1+0&dict=A |
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Esl_Expert
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| #10 (permalink) Thu Jan 29, 2009 17:07 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Hi ESL,
I think we are wandering a bit from the original question, which was why the word 'absolutely' wasn't appropriate in the test sentence. I can't agree that you would say: 'they'll positively arrive' or 'they'll absolutely arrive.' The only adverb that fits for me is 'definitely' as in 'they'll definitely arrive.'
Alan
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| #11 (permalink) Fri Jan 30, 2009 18:14 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Hello Alan,
| Alan wrote: |
| I can't agree that you would say: 'they'll positively arrive' or 'they'll absolutely arrive.' |
Those two sentences differ both structurally and contextually from the test sentence, so whether they are or are not acceptable is not particularly relevant here.
| Alan wrote: |
| The only adverb that fits for me is 'definitely' as in 'they'll definitely arrive.' |
I agree that "definitely" can be used that way. In that short sentence, the word "definitely" modifies the verb "arrive". However, your new sentence reflects neither the wording nor the word order used in the test sentence. So that sentence is not terribly relevant either.
If you tack "definitely" onto the end of the test sentence, then it tends to sound a bit like an afterthought, added in order to emphasize the certainty of the promise that "they will arrive on Thursday".
As I'm sure you know, "for sure" is frequently used as a disjunct. "For sure" is often added to the end of a sentence in order to emphasize more than just a verb, and that is what I see in the test sentence. Thus, "for sure" emphasizes the certainty of the promise that "they'll arrive on Thursday". If "for sure" is to be removed from the end of the test sentence and simply replaced with something else, the replacement can therefore be expected to serve a similar purpose. The word "definitely" can be used to emphasize the promise in the sentence. The words "absolutely" and "positively" are also feasible in such a role, though I'd expect to see them set off by a comma in this case.
If you look at everything written in the two* test sentences, they seem specifically designed to emphatically assure and/or reassure: "Don't worry" and "I promise you". That is one more reason that "for sure" can easily be viewed as intensifying something other than just a single verb.
Some might possibly argue that "for sure" emphasizes the certainty of "on Thursday". However, I don't see it as possible or even logical to argue that "for sure" modifies only the verb "arrive" in the test sentence. The same would then be true if "for sure" is replaced by "definitely".
It occurs to me that your apparent discomfort with the usage of "absolutely" and "positively" (as described and illustrated in my previous posts) might reflect a difference in the frequency with which those two words are used in British English as compared to American English. A quick look at the numbers in the BNC and COCA suggests that the word "absolutely", for example, is used roughly six times more often in American English than in British English.
* In the test, a period/full stop seems to have been forgotten after the word "worry". |
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| #12 (permalink) Fri Jan 30, 2009 19:03 pm Thanks for 'sure..' |
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Dear ESL_ Expert
Thank you very much for your elaborate analytic explanation... for making sure that 'definitely' is also one of the adverbs to use for assuring or reassuring certain things as per your lines quoted below".
| Quote: |
| If you look at everything written in the two* test sentences, they seem specifically designed to emphatically assure and/or reassure: "Don't worry" and "I promise you". |
And as per Mr. Alan, I hope, it is absolutely acceptable to use this word 'definitely' in this same situation. But as you mentioned, Americans use 'absolutely' more frequently than 'definitely'. This is why, in my opinion, your line of thinking is more adherent to this particular word 'absolutely'.
Even if we can not arrive at a perfect conclusion as to which word is more emphatic, we can let the writer to use those words as per his mindful usage accordingly.
..
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| #13 (permalink) Fri Jan 30, 2009 19:26 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Hi,
I tend to agree with Sahid's final comment and must add that comments about the number of times a word is used based on corpora don't really help anyone. I'll have the full stop inserted in the test, which must have got lost in the transition.
Alan
PS What is COCA, please?
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| #14 (permalink) Fri Jan 30, 2009 19:35 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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| Alan wrote: |
| I can't agree that you would say: 'they'll positively arrive' or 'they'll absolutely arrive.' |
I'm afraid I have to disagree. Here in the US we DO say such things, and I am a native speaker of English.
I've been visiting this forum for quite a while, and this statement of yours forced me to sign up and give my two cents.
I just want to point Sahid59 (and anyone to whom it may concern, for that matter) in the right direction seeing as he might have gotten confused over this dealy - if you are in the USA, do not hesitate to say 'they'll positively arrive' or 'they'll absolutely arrive.'.
Regards,
Milo |
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| #15 (permalink) Fri Jan 30, 2009 20:36 pm Meaning of 'for sure' |
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Dear Milo..
Thank you for your inception of this argument from another angle.
Pardon me, we are not getting confused over the delay in their 'arrival' but on the other hand we want to make sure that they will arrive 'on Thursday'.
I will rearrange the sentence in two ways to have a clear vision as below:
....they'll arrive on Thursday for sure. (here the day of arrival is emphasized)
....on Thursday they'll arrive for sure. (here their arrival is being emphasized)
That is why, I hope, the day of arrival (Thursday) is given at the end to emphasize it. But in your quoted sentence you are simply assuring the action 'arrival', not the day of arrival.
It is better to keep it in mind that any sentence can not have the effect of stressing values as it will have when it is spoken.
Thanks for the chance to go deep in this line of thinking..
...
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