Two questions about the word "confidence" My book says only gain goes with confidence, not get, acquire and obtain. However, get and acquire are on some collocation websites. Which is true? 1)That wa

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Two questions about the word "confidence" My book says only gain goes with confidence, not get, acquire and obtain. However, get and acquire are on some collocation websites. Which is true? 1)That was a real boost to my confidence. 2)That boosted my confidence greatly. Are these sentences natural? Thank you in advance!

May 3, 2015 8:52 PM

Answers · 7

I think what your book is trying to say is confidence can only fluctuate up and down instead of being physically taken. Therefore, the two sentences you provided are correct.

May 3, 2015

To us, confidence is an amount of something; not a single item. If it were a physical thing, it would still be uncountable. So, words like "gain" and "develop" are suitable collocations.

May 3, 2015

Both sentences are correct and natural, or you could say 'That gave a real boost to my confidence' or 'That gave my confidence a real boost'. 'Gain confidence', 'gain in confidence', 'develop confidence', and 'acquire confidence' can all be used. 'Get' and 'obtain' are not natural.

May 3, 2015

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