Cover of the textbook New Total English Advanced - Students' Book

The key answer of exercise 2

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 1.2 - Famous firsts for the textbook New Total English Advanced - Students' Book with authors JJ Wilson with Antonia Clare from Pearson Education

Question

  1. Complete the How to ... box with the underlined expressions from exercise 1.
  2. How are the expressions different? Which are strongest? Which mean the same?

Answer

a)

| know

  • I'm pretty sure
  • I know it like the back of my hand
  • I know it by heart
  • I know it inside out
  • I'm fairly certain it is
  • I'm positive it is

I don't know

  • I haven't a clue
  • I don't know off the top of my head
  • I don't know offhand
  • I've never heard of him
  • I know next to nothing about it
  • I haven't the faintest idea

b)

  • I'm pretty sure means 'I'm quite certain'.
  • I don't know off the top of my head and I don't know offhand are similar. They mean 'I can't tell you the answer now (without looking for the relevant information)'.
  • We use I've never heard of ... when we don't recognise the name of the thing mentioned (it could be a person, an object, a place, etc.).
  • We use next to nothing when we recognise the name of the subject, but know almost nothing about it / him / her. We use this expression in response to a 'What do you know about ...?' question, or in the expression 'I know next to nothing about it.'
  • I know it like the back of my hand is often used to talk about a place, while I know it inside out is often used to talk about a subject. I know it by heart is used for something we have memorised, perhaps a poem or a speech.
  • The strongest are: I know it like the back of my hand, I know it by heart, I know it inside out, I haven't a clue, I haven't the faintest idea.
  • The expressions with a similar meaning are: I know it like the back of my hand, I know it by heart and I know it inside out. They mean 'I know it extremely well'.