False Friends: Doubt
Dúvida means doubt only sometimes.
We say, “without a doubt” for “sem dúvida.”
But we do not say “I have a doubt”, when we want to ask for information.
We say, “I have a question,” for “Tenho uma dúvida”.
People who are studying English like to say, “I have a doubt.” That is one of the most common mistakes that even advanced learners make.
Autora: I'm Mary Ziller. I tutor ESL at the IHM Lteracy Center in Philadelphia. I lived a year in Brazil where I became certified to teach English as a Foreign language. Outros textos da autora.
Christopher disse:
Great point Mary! Very true. I hear people say ‘I have a doubt’ when they ought to say ‘I have a question’ ALL the time!
‘Tira suas duvidas’ is absolutely more like ‘Get your questions answered.’
-Christopher
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