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doubt as a noun
1. All his doubts about the project disappeared.
Sentence 1 can be explained as,
1) All things he thought might or might not happen are certain to happen or not happen.
2) He is now sure the project will be a success.
Which one is correct?
2. I had doubts about his ability.
1) I think what I understand about his ability is not consistent with his true ability.
2) I am not sure what his ability is like.
3) I think a certain task is beyond his ability.
Which one is correct?
3. The outcome is still in doubt.
1) No one is sure what the outcome will be.
2) We have been shown the outcome, but we suspect it is not what it should have been.
Which one is correct?
Oct 7, 2016 5:42 AM
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Answers · 4
Q1 - 2
A doubt is a feeling. The sentence is about his feelings. It's not about things happening. Being sure is a feeling. He had doubt, now he is sure.
Q2 - no answer is correct.
I had doubts, in the past. What do I have now? The answers don't correspond to the question. Anthony's answer above makes sense.
Q3 - 1, but it's not a good explanation.
This usage usually means that we hope the outcome will be X but we're not confident that it will happen. We might get another outcome. The success is in doubt, really.
The explanation would be more appropriate if the question used "uncertain" instead of "in doubt."
Q3 -
October 7, 2016
For number 1 the answer is number 2
For number 2, the answer could be number 3 but I think a better way of saying it is "I thought a certain task was beyond his ability."
For number 3 the answer is number 1
October 7, 2016
