I wouidn't put it past him ? ? ?

Status
Not open for further replies.

belena

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Hi! I WOULDN'T PUT IT PAST HIM. does it mean that he is not very nice? Could you give me some example how to use this idiom ? Thank you very much. The answers I get on this site are not only helpful but also friendly and encouraging.!
:)
.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Hi belena, and welcome to Using English.

If you say "I wouldn't put it past him" it means you have suspicions about the person's honesty and ethics.

You and this person are working together on a project. You will not be there they day the project must be presented to your boss/teacher. You say to a friend "I'm afraid he will take all the credit for this and not let them know that I was part of this." Your friend says "I wouldn't put it past him."

A man ("Pete") is having some trouble with his girlfriend, although they both want to figure out how to solve their problems. In the meantime, "Joe" (another person) has always liked the girlfriend. Pete says to a friend "Joe will probably try to sleep with her while we are going through this." His friend says about Joe "I wouldn't put it past him. He tried to get her to go to bed with him when you guys first started dating."
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
:up: Note, belena, that there be something (often a clause beginning with 'to') that specifies what the it is. You can't just say 'I wouldn't put it past him' as a general insult; there must be something, understood by both speaker and listener, that you wouldn't 'put past him'. ;-)

b
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top