Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner1]

Hello,

Are 'certain' and 'sure' interchangeable in the following sentences?

1.A:'What time does the show start?'
B:'I'm not sure/certain.'

2.'Are you sure/certain that you know how to get there?'

3.'He wasn't sure/certain how to answer this.'

4.'I'm not sure/certain if I'm pronouncing this correctly.'

5.'Are you sure/certain you really want a divorce?'

6.'It's sure/certain to rain.'

7.'I'm not certain/sure when it will be ready.'

8.'are you certain/sure about that?'

9.'It's not certain/sure where he lived.

10.'It's not certain/sure whether he did the right thing.'

11.'It's not certain/sure how he gets there.'

Thank you very much.

[CP]

To me it seems you can use either sure or certain in all your sentences.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[learner1]

Hello CP,

Thank you very much for your reply. Could you please also check if 'sure' and 'certain' are fine in these examples?

12.A:Are you sure/certain to come to the party?
B:Yes. I am sure/certain to come.

13.'It is sure/certain that he will come to the party tonight.

14.Another question about 'home country'. Are 'home country' and 'homeland' the same thing?

Thank you very much

[learner1]

Hello,

Could someone please answer my quetion?

Thank you very much.

[bud]

12. Both are grammatical, but a bit clunky. More common:

Are you sure/certain you're coming to the party? Yes, I'm sure/certain.

13. Both are grammatical, but a bit clunky. More common:

He's coming to the party tonight for sure/certain.

14. I would equate them to house and home.

Home country and house are places. Homeland and home describe centers of emotional attachment.

[learner1]

Hello bud,

Thank you so much for your very helpful reply. I am sorry I don't quite understand your explanation about 'home country' and 'homeland'. Does 'home country' mean a country where someone was born? If so, it should be the same thing as 'homeland', I think. According to the dictionary, 'homeland' means 'a country where someone was born', but I can't find the definition of 'home country'. Could you please help me to clear it up?

Thank you very much.

[bud]

Home country" is where you were born. It has a name and it's location can be found on an atlas. But that's all it is - a thing. (It's analogous to a house. A house is a building at a certain location - just a thing.)

But "homeland" is that and more. It's where you were born, where your family lived/lives, it's where you got your culture, where you became accustomed to the foods you like to eat, etc. It's more than a thing, it has a soul. (This is analogous to a home. A home is where you fought with you brother, where your mother soothed your hurts, etc. This also is more than a thing - it, too, has a soul.)

So home country and homeland refer to the same general thing, but from different perspectives.

[learner1]

Hello bud,

What an excellent explanation you offered! Now, I'm sure that I've totally understood the difference between them.
Thank you very much for your great help.

[bud]

Thank you very much, Learner1!