A hunch

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases and expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei.

And I'm Becca. Before we start, Feifei, I have to tell you something. I have a feeling about something…

Oh, what is it Becca? What kind of feeling?

Well, I have a hunch that we'll have to do some extra work today.

And, what makes you think that?

Well, the last time we had such a big project coming up, we had to produce a lot more programmes very quickly. I'm not entirely sure though, it is just a hunch.

Ah I see. But, what is a hunch?

Well, a hunch is a feeling or a guess about something. You might have an idea about it, but you don't have clear evidence or proof.

Ah, I see. So, let's hear some other people using 'a hunch'.

Someone keeps stealing my sandwiches from the fridge at work. I don't definitely know who it is, but I've got a hunch. It's my birthday coming up and my colleagues are being really suspicious. I've no idea what they're up to, but I've got a hunch they're planning a surprise. Hmm, this is a very difficult quiz question. I don't really know what the answer is, but I've got a hunch.

So, it's like an intuition you have about something. When you think something is true, even if you can't explain why.

Yes. We can have a hunch, follow a hunch or act on a hunch. It's not so much that we try to prove our hunch is true, but we go along with it. It inspires our action. It's also used a singular noun.

So, we wouldn't say, I've got some hunches?

No, you wouldn't say you've got some hunches. Although it's grammatically correct, when we describe that feeling or intuition, we say we have 'a hunch'.

That's it for this programme but join us next time to learn more English phrases and expressions. But for now, it's goodbye!

Bye!