Hi Guys! I'm Arnel from Arnel's Everyday English
and today we're going to look at a few different ways you can say
I DON'T KNOW. Today we're going to look at
six different idioms to be precise. The idioms we're going to look at today
are very common and very natural. But at the end of the lesson, I'm going
to take a few moments to discuss the 'formality', because as you know
not every idiom can be used in every single situation.
First 'I don't know' is correct. You are not wrong if you say 'I don't
know', but let's add a bit of variety to your
language. it will make you sound more natural.
Speaking of natural, let's take a few moments to look at
'I don't know'. Okay, 'I don't know', as you can see is already partially
contracted. It's not very common to hear someone say
'I do NOT know' unless they are really emphasizing they don't know something.
For example: A: you know who took my money don't you. B: I do not know.
Idunno. I dunno. I dunno. Informal.
Fast. Easy.
Number one: Your guess is as good as mine. A: When do you think we'll be able to stop
wearing masks? B: Your guess is as good as mine.
The word 'guess' is a great word. 'guess' means to give an answer without
any information. For example: Here are a bunch of colors. I want you to
guess which color is my favorite.
For those of you who follow my Instagram, you know my favorite color is purple. I
love purple. But, if you didn't know that, maybe you
thought 'blue' or 'red'.
That is guessing. So, when I say 'your guess is as good as mine', I'm really
telling you, I don't have any more information than
you.
In English, why are so many words a noun and a verb? 'Guess' is a noun, 'guess' is also
a verb. Your guess is as good as mine.
Number 2: 'it beats me'. A: Do you think it's going to rain tomorrow?
B: It beats me. A: Why was Nathan so cranky in the meeting?
B: It beats me. 'Cranky' means to be a little bit angry and in a bad
mood. See, that's me that's a picture of me in
the morning. I am cranky in the morning.
So, we can say 'it beats me' but you know in English we like to be really
lazy. We can actually remove the IT. A: Do you
think it's going to rain tomorrow? B:Beats me. A:hy was Nathan so cranky in the
meeting? B: Beats me. That's perfectly fine.
Number 3: not that I know of.
We use 'not that I know of' when we want to express
that we are not sure if the information you're asking us about
is correct or not. A: Have all the students wash their hands?
B: Not that I know of. - Maybe
A: Was Alexa late for work again today? B: Not that I know of.
We use 'not that I know of' to answer a yes/no question.
A yes/no question is a question that we ask when we expect a yes or a no.
For example: A: Have all the students washed their hands?
I could say yes, I could say no. A: Was Alexa late for work again today? I
could say yes, I could say no.
A: When does a last bus leave? B: Not that I know of.
Here, you can see it doesn't really work because
'When does the last bus leave?' is not a yes or no question.
Number 4: I have no idea / I have no clue
First, what is a clue? A clue is something that gives us
information about a mystery.
At a crime scene, a fingerprint
is a clue.
So when I say 'I have no clue', I mean - I have nothing that can give you
information. A: Do you know where all the paper clips
have gone? A: have no idea / I have no clue.
With 'I have no idea / I have no clue', you don't always have to answer a question.
You know, I have no clue where I put my phone.
i have no idea why I love cream cheese so much.
It's just so good.
Did you get an email about the meeting tomorrow?
Because I have no clue when I'm supposed to be there.
Here, you can see, 'I have no idea / I have no clue +
question word. Where. Why. When. We can also have
Who. How. How much. Five: Who knows?
'Who knows' is a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is a grammatical
question, but we are not really expecting an
answer. For example, if someone said to you
'Why can't I stop smoking?' they're not really expecting an answer.
You wouldn't say: Well, because you're addicted. That would
be a bit unnatural. So 'Who knows?' is a rhetorical question.
A: Why can't we bring drinks into the meeting room?
B: Who knows? A: Where does Jane get all the money to buy those
designer handbags? B: Who knows?
A:Do you think I'll get a refund if I cancel my flight?
B: Who knows? Nowadays, traveling's a bit risky.
'Who knows' plus question word. Don't eat that. Who knows how long it's
been there?
Who knows where Louis is? He's a teenager, he's probably out with his friends. Who
knows when our train will leave? We've been sitting here for ages.
In these questions here, you can see, I'm not genuinely asking for an answer.
There are actually a lot of variations to
'Who knows?' and I think you've probably heard a few of them.
God knows. Lord knows. Christ knows. Heaven knows. Goodness knows.
These all mean the same thing. Why are there so many variations?
God knows. Number six: How should I know? Remember those
rhetorical questions?
We use 'How should I know?' when we are a little bit surprised
and maybe a little bit angry someone is asking us a question.
We are a bit angry because we think it's obvious
we don't have the answer.
A: Claire told me her boyfriend didn't come home last night.
Do you know where he was? B: How should I know?
Husband: Do you know if Jess did well on her history exam?
B: How should I know? Our daughter doesn't tell me anything anymore.
A: Who left these windows open? B: How should I know? I just got here.
So, you can see and hear, that the person is a little bit surprised and maybe even
a little bit angry.
Let's look at 'formality'. Your guess is as good as mine.
It beats me. Not that I know of. I have no idea, I have no clue. Who knows?
How should I know? All of these idioms here
you can use with friends, close colleagues,
family members and in pretty much any situation where you feel comfortable.
Informal situations. I mean can you imagine....
So, Mr. Franklin. If we give you this job, how could you help our company?
...beats me. So you can see, in formal situations, these idioms would
not be the best things to use. But every day, day to day,
when you're just having a conversation, these are great.
Try to use some of these instead of constantly saying
'I don't know' or 'I dunno'. Wonderful. Thank you so much for watching
today's video. I'm really happy to have you here with
me. Can you give me an example in the comments below?
And, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to my channel so you never miss
another video. I'll see you soon. Bye!