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!
