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Hi~ Would you help me how to say this naturally please? ;-)
A: You have been loved here blindly for 1year. Why don’t you just ask her out and have a dinner together or something? I fell so sorry for you man.
B: I have no gut to do that.
Or, I have no heart to do that.
Dear fly:
I don't have the guts to do that. = I don't have the courage to do that.
Also possible: I don't have the nerve.
To say 'I don't have the heart to do that,' has a different connotation. It often means 'I couldn't do that because it would be too hurtful.'
For example, B finally works up the nerve to ask her out. She accepts. Later, she is talking to a friend:
She: B asked me to dinner. I said I'd go, but I don't really want to.
Friend: Then why didn't you just say no?
She: I just didn't have the heart to disappoint him.
I hope this is helpful,
Petra
Oh~~ Thanks a lot~~ :-D
I understood 100% through your example !
Now I got to kow how to use it and when can use it!
In Br English, 'not having the guts' suggests that the speaker is contemptuous. So 'You/he/she/it/you/they haven't got the guts' is more common than 'I/we haven't got the guts' - though 'We haven't got the guts' is more likely then "I", as the speaker may be suggesting contempt for his or her leaders; and 'I haven't got the guts' is possible if the speaker has low self-esteem ('I'm a real yellow-belly - I just don't have the guts')!
So I think in your conversation 'I haven't got the nerve'' is more likely. Or just 'I don't/wouldn't [either is possible] dare'; or even 'I'd never be able to pluck up the courage'.
b
PS - I really like Petra's 'haven't the heart' example. :up:
Dear BobK:
In Br English, 'not having the guts' suggests that the speaker is contemptuous. So 'You/he/she/it/you/they haven't got the guts' is more common than 'I/we haven't got the guts' - though 'We haven't got the guts' is more likely then "I", as the speaker may be suggesting contempt for his or her leaders; and 'I haven't got the guts' is possible if the speaker has low self-esteem ('I'm a real yellow-belly - I just don't have the guts')!
Thanks so much for this. I was totally unaware of this different usage/shading/connotation. Knowing it could help me keep my foot out of my mouth!:-)
Petra
You also not have the stomach for something, which is far less contemptuous.