Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"

We have heard “I reckon” being used by Australian native English speakers.

It’s not used at all in the US except for in old country western movies.

Today we’ll show you five ways to use “‘I guess” to express different feelings and communicate different ideas.

When we use “I guess” sometimes it can show that we’re not sure about what we are saying and if we’re not careful it could communicate a lack of confidence.

Pro tip! Be careful when you’re mirroring the speech of native speakers.

Sometimes native speakers convey a lack of confidence in their voice and you don’t want to repeat the way they sound.

Listen to a variety of voices to avoid this pitfall.

How to use “I guess” in English:

  1. At the beginning of a phrase to show that you’re unsure. “I guess it’s at the end of the street”
  2. At the end of the phrase to show that you’re unsure. “There’s no other way to get there I guess.”
  3. To make an assumption and put it into a question. “Oh you’re not coming home for Christmas I guess.”
  4. To let someone down lightly and empathize. “So I guess all of the New Years tickets are sold out.”
  5. To reserve your agreement, to show that you don’t agree with someone. “Yeah I guess Macy’s is a good place to shop but it gets so crowded there around Christmas.”
  6.  To take a guess. “Can you guess what’s in this bag?”

Listen to the episode to hear how “I guess” is used in real conversations.

What did you think about today’s episode?

Let us know in the comments below.

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