wonder

[Anonymous]

It's really difficult for non-native speakers to understand the verb "to wonder". Sometimes, I understand it as "to speculate", other times, as "to doubt".
My question is, can "wonder" mean "to doubt", too? For example, is this question correct:

- Do you wonder whether you got any good grades in your last chemistry tests?

 

[blacknomi]

For "wonder" , please go to
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=91105&dict=CALD

For "speculate", go to
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=speculate

Hope it helps a little.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It's really difficult for non-native speakers to understand the verb "to wonder". Sometimes, I understand it as "to speculate", other times, as "to doubt".
My question is, can "wonder" mean "to doubt", too? For example, is this question correct:

- Do you wonder whether you got any good grades in your last chemistry tests?

I think that the best answer to your question is that the wondering itself doesn't change very much, but the reason that the wondering occurs does change.

To wonder about something is to think about that something in a questioning way. One might have questions because one doesn't necessarily believe what had been offered. That would be doubt or skepticism. One might also wonder about something because one can't figure that something out. That would be curiosity or speculation. Does that make sense to you?