English Experts

[JERRYDORIEN]

Hi friends,

Anyone could help me about this expression "to give it a shot"???

It sounded great, and I decided to give it a shot.

thanks in advance.

[Flavia.lm]

Hi Jerry

one of the definitions of shot = a chance or attempt to do or get something
give something your best shot (=try as hard as you can to do something): Give it your best shot – that’s all you can do.

Seguem minhas tentativas:

It sounded great, and I decided to give it a shot.
Parecia incrível, por isso decidi dar o melhor de mim / me esforçar o máximo possível para conseguir .

Hope that helps,

Flávia

[Henry Cunha]

Chegou bem pertinho, Flávia, mas pode ser mesmo qualquer tentativa:

Just give it a shot. = Experimenta isso. Faça uma tentativa.
Now give it your best shot. = Dessa vez, capriche.

Regards

[JERRYDORIEN]

Hi friends,

thanks for your help, you're brilliant !!!!

see you.

[Gabi]

hello

I'd like just to complement,there are two other ways that I know wich could be used as the "give a shot"

Take a chance,
Have a go

[Henry Cunha]

Estamos todos chutando...

[Emanuel Fagundes]

Na música do Bon Jovi, Livin' on a Prayer, tem essa expressão:

"... for love, we'll give it a shot.
woah, we're halfway there
wo-oah, livin' on a prayer..."

E acredito que tá todo mundo certo: significa fazer uma tentativa em alguma coisa.

Só pra complementar, quando tem alguma coisa que vale a pena tentar, usa-se a expressão "to be worth a shot".

Exemplo:
"-Is it worth a shot?" (Será que vale a pena?)

"If something is worth a shot, it is worth trying as there is some chance of success." (UsingEnglish.com)

E há ainda outra maneira de dizer "to give a shot", que é "to give a try". Ambas possuem o mesmo significado.

[surei]

Gostaria de saber a diferença entre:
give sth a short, to
have a shot at sth, to

[Thomas]

to give something a shot = to try something
Well, I haven't played the guitar for years, but I'll give it a shot. (try)
I don't know if I am qualified for this job, but I'll give it a shot. (try)

to have a shot = to have chance at something, to try something (sometimes BOTH can be good translations )
I don't know if I have a shot with the new girl, but I will ask her to have coffee with me. (chance)
Do you think she has a shot at the presidency? (chance)
I don't know if she will accept the invitation, I but I will have a shot (try).
Can I have a shot at answerng your question? (try, chance)

[surei]

Valeu Thomas, então pelo que entendi um seria "tentar" o outro seria "chance", podendo também ser "tentar". É parece bem parecidos mesmo, só no contexto e com as frases que acredito conseguirei ver melhor a diferença. Obrigada!