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Grace
"I doubt" means trust or not ?
I guess "I doubt" means I don't believe this could happen.
Today I heard something like:
A - Oh it works! What if we change it, do it again in a different way
B - I doubt it would even work.
So I'm confused. Does person B believe it would work or not ?
Jul 2, 2017 6:17 AM
Answers · 5
1
There is no ambiguity at all.
The first person says that it works. Then also suggests trying it a different way. The second person does not believe the second way will work.
July 2, 2017
Not really sure, i'm a native speaker and i'm also confused. It would make more sense if B spoke first, and then A. meaning B doubt it would work, then A showed it worked.
July 2, 2017
Because of what A said at the start, it does become somewhat ambiguous. A said "it works!" and maybe B just waited for them to finish before saying "I doubt it would work" but that seems like a weird way to reply, especially without further specifying that it working in the first place is what they are skeptical of.
So the most likely scenario is that A said "it works, but let's try it in a different way" and then B says "it works, but I think if we change it, I don't think it will work."
So "I doubt it" means "I don't think so" or "I don't have any confidence in that [method/procedure/etc.]"
July 2, 2017
There is no confusion. B believes it would not work if they try it diffently.
July 2, 2017
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Grace
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French
Learning Language
English, French
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