EPISODE · Jul 10, 2026 · 9 MIN
1075 - How Americans Really Use "Guess"
from Happy English Podcast · host Michael DiGiacomo Happy English
I guess so. I guess not. I guess you're right. Let me guess. Guess what?You probably learned that the verb guess means to answer a question when you don't know the answer. And that's true. But in everyday American English, guess has several other meanings. In fact, when native speakers say, "I guess," they're usually not making a guess at all. They're softening an opinion, showing they're not completely certain, or saying something in a more relaxed way. So today, we're going to look at how Americans really use guess.The Happy English PodcastHelping people speak English better since 2014Over 1,000 episodes • 8 million downloads📘 Get free weekly English lessons plus instant access to my FREE Vocabulary Workshop.:https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/free-english-lessons🎥 Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts🌐 Learn more about my English lessons and courseshttps://www.myhappyenglish.com
What this episode covers
I guess so. I guess not. I guess you're right. Let me guess. Guess what?You probably learned that the verb guess means to answer a question when you don't know the answer. And that's true. But in everyday American English, guess has several other meanings. In fact, when native speakers say, "I guess," they're usually not making a guess at all. They're softening an opinion, showing they're not completely certain, or saying something in a more relaxed way. So today, we're going to look at how Americans really use guess.The Happy English PodcastHelping people speak English better since 2014Over 1,000 episodes • 8 million downloads📘 Get free weekly English lessons plus instant access to my FREE Vocabulary Workshop.:https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/free-english-lessons🎥 Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts🌐 Learn more about my English lessons and courseshttps://www.myhappyenglish.com
NOW PLAYING
1075 - How Americans Really Use "Guess"
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
Mar 26, 2026 ·1m
Jan 2, 2026 ·47m
Dec 21, 2025 ·46m