[Grammar] For me= in my opinion?

[Will17]

Hello!

Can I say "for me" to mean "in my opinion".

E.g: For me, this is not a good idea.

Thank you
WIll

 

[Raymott]

Hello!

Can I say "for me" to mean "in my opinion".

E.g: For me, this is not a good idea.

Thank you
WIll

In my opinion, they mean slightly different things. For me, they don't sound the same.
"For me ..." doesn't always involve a thought-out opinion, but rather a feeling.
"What colour curtains should we get? For me, blue would be good." This means that I would be pleased with blue, but I'm only saying what my tastes are. If everyone else wanted green curtains, my opinion might be that we should get green, even though, for me, blue would be better.

 

[BobK]

:up: I'm afraid this expression has become rather a cliché in sports commentary: 'For me, that was off-side'. I suggest you avoid this general 'that's only my opinion' usage, and copy Raymott's examples. ;-)

 

[billmcd]

Hello!

Can I say "for me" to mean "in my opinion". Yes.

E.g: For me, this is not a good idea.

Thank you
WIll

b.

 

[Raymott]

It seems that bill doesn’t think altruistically.;-) Whatever is good “for me” becomes “my opinion”.
I agree that “For me” can sometimes be used for “In my opinion” and perhaps it's common usage in the US. My advice is not to count on it.

Let me give another example:
Eight people are dining.
Host: Well, time for dessert. What do you think of caramel tart with brandy custard and ice cream.
Guest: For me, that’s not a good idea. (I’m diabetic)
Guest: In my opinion, that’s not a good idea. (I can’t eat it, so no one should.)

Note: here, "for me" doesn't mean "in my opinion". It means, literally, 'for me'. This is how I would interpret it. That is, if, in giving your opinion about something, you said, "For me ...", I would assume you were speaking purely about the effects it would have on you personally.

 

[billmcd]

It seems that bill doesn’t think altruistically.;-) Whatever is good “for me” becomes “my opinion”.
I agree that “For me” can sometimes be used for “In my opinion” and perhaps it's common usage in the US. My advice is not to count on it.

Let me give another example:
Eight people are dining.
Host: Well, time for dessert. What do you think of caramel tart with brandy custard and ice cream.
Guest: For me, that’s not a good idea. (I’m diabetic)
Guest: In my opinion, that’s not a good idea. (I can’t eat it, so no one should.)

Note: here, "for me" doesn't mean "in my opinion". It means, literally, 'for me'. This is how I would interpret it. That is, if, in giving your opinion about something, you said, "For me ...", I would assume you were speaking purely about the effects it would have on you personally.

I simply answered Will17's original question:

Can I say "for me" to mean "in my opinion".
My answer to his/her question was "Yes" and your answer apparently was "Yes, but....."

 

[emsr2d2]

I regularly start my replies on this forum with "For me..." when expressing my opinion.

 

[konungursvia]

It seems that bill doesn’t think altruistically.;-) Whatever is good “for me” becomes “my opinion”.
I agree that “For me” can sometimes be used for “In my opinion” and perhaps it's common usage in the US. My advice is not to count on it.

Let me give another example:
Eight people are dining.
Host: Well, time for dessert. What do you think of caramel tart with brandy custard and ice cream.
Guest: For me, that’s not a good idea. (I’m diabetic)
Guest: In my opinion, that’s not a good idea. (I can’t eat it, so no one should.)

Note: here, "for me" doesn't mean "in my opinion". It means, literally, 'for me'. This is how I would interpret it. That is, if, in giving your opinion about something, you said, "For me ...", I would assume you were speaking purely about the effects it would have on you personally.

I don't think it's that common a usage in AmE (for "in my opinion" in any case).

To me it reeks of Gallicism ("pour moi") and Victorian English, not to mention other Continental languages. But I think the OP has to be told yes, they can be interchangeable, at times, though "for me" usually means "intended" or "purposed" to myself, e.g. This cake is for me, it's my birthday.