Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Navid]

Hello everybody
Hope all of you have a whale of a time.

Would you please tell me that we should say:
1- I am sure of sth
or
2- I am sure about sth
Hear from you soon.

[bud]

This is much more complicated than it may appear. After looking at a few online dictionaries, I can find none that cite #2. One cites #1... Trying to think of some examples, I can think of several where 'about' sounds strange. But I can think of a few where either works ok. To be safe, I'd advise using #1.

However, if you are referring to somebody instead of something, both are correct.

Hope that helps.

[advoca]

In Europe most people would consider that you can use either way. And in general they are right. Collins Cobuild Dictionary quotes an example as follows: "It is impossible to be sure about the value of land."

They also quote: "She was not sure how she felt about him." In this case it is not correct to say, "She was not sure how she felt of him."

You could say, "She was not sure of the way she felt about him," or you could say "She was not sure about how she felt."

My advice to my pupils is not to worry about it, especially if you are not sure about the right way.