Doubt or question

Posts0Likes0Joined19/9/2019LocationSão Paulo / BR
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Portuguese
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Once I was in a class and raised my hand saying "I have a doubt". The teacher laughed and replied "now you'll talk about God!". I learned I should have said "I have a question". It was British context. Is it the same for American English?

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#1
Posts1630Likes1092Joined18/3/2018LocationBellingham / US
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Yes: "I have a question".

In Thailand now. Next up Tanzania and Philippines.

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#2
Posts0Likes0Joined19/9/2019LocationSão Paulo / BR
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Portuguese
Learning English, French, Italian, Spanish

leosmith wrote:
Yes: "I have a question".
Thanks! This one is very tricky for Portuguese speakers, my students say it a lot and are normally not convinced when I tell them not to use "doubt" in this situation, because it would be a natural translation from our mother tongue.

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#3
Posts1630Likes1092Joined18/3/2018LocationBellingham / US
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Valeria.Fontes wrote:
my students say it a lot and are normally not convinced when I tell them not to use "doubt" in this situation, because it would be a natural translation from our mother tongue.

That's interesting. In Korean, although you can say "I have a question" it's more common to say "I'm curious (about something)".

In Thailand now. Next up Tanzania and Philippines.

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#4
Posts0Likes0Joined20/9/2019LocationRizal / PH
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Tagalog
Learning English, Russian

They do? In English that sounds like making a statement than asking a question although I'm sure they already understood that's the intent of saying they are curious about something. Good to know if ever I study in Korea. :)

"Не волнуйтесь"

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#5
Posts0Likes0Joined17/9/2019LocationMexico City / MX
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Spanish
Learning English, German

I can't believe I have been using "doubt" all this time! It must be a really common problem for native Spanish speakers because we are used to saying "I have a doubt" in Spanish when we raise our hand in class. Good to know!

Language shapes our view of the world.

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#6
Posts0Likes0Joined19/9/2019LocationSão Paulo / BR
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Portuguese
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ZairaI.Uranga wrote:
I can't believe I have been using "doubt" all this time! :laughing: It must be a really common problem for native Spanish speakers because we are used to saying "I have a doubt" in Spanish when we raise our hand in class. Good to know!
Actually I've raised this doubt - oops, question - in "other than English" forum, because I was suspicious Spanish speakers have the same translation issue.

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#7
Posts0Likes0Joined26/9/2019LocationKR
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Korean

In America, when you use the word, "Doubt," for example,


A: "I think Earth is the shape of square."

B: "I doubt it."


And plus, I think they don't use a sentence like "I have a doubt." Most likely it is supposed to be "I have a question." :)

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#8
Posts0Likes0Joined19/9/2019LocationSão Paulo / BR
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JaeHong.S wrote:
In America, when you use the word, "Doubt," for example,
A: "I think Earth is the shape of square."
B: "I doubt it."
And plus, I think they don't use a sentence like "I have a doubt." Most likely it is supposed to be "I have a question." :)
I don't doubt it at all! The Earth is definitely round, haha!

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#9
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