Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia.
cer•tain•ly(ˈsɜr tn li)
Certainly is used to emphasize statements. You often use certainly when you are agreeing with something that has been said or confirming that something is true.
Don't confuse certainly and surely. You use surely to express disagreement or surprise.
Both British and American speakers use certainly to respond positively to a question or statement.
American speakers also use surely in this way.
Certainly is usually used to modify verbs.
If there is no auxiliary verb, you put certainly in front of the verb, unless the verb is be.
If the verb is be, certainly can go either in front of it or after it. It usually goes after it.
If there is an auxiliary verb, you usually put certainly after the auxiliary verb.
If there is more than one auxiliary verb, you usually put certainly after the first one. Certainly can also go in front of the first auxiliary verb.
If you use an auxiliary verb without a main verb, you put certainly in front of the auxiliary verb.
You can also put certainly at the beginning of a sentence.
If you think that something is true, but you are not quite sure about it, you can use almost certainly.
Don't put 'nearly' in front of certainly.
surely definitely certainly naturally
You use surely for emphasis when you are objecting to something that has been said or done.
Don't use 'surely' simply to give strong emphasis to a statement. Use definitely.
In British English, you don't use 'surely' when you are agreeing with something that has been said, or confirming that something is true. Use certainly.
American speakers use both surely and certainly to agree with requests and statements.
Don't use 'surely' to say emphatically that something will happen in the future. Use definitely or certainly.
Don't use 'surely' to emphasize that something is what you would expect in particular circumstances. Use naturally.
|Adv.||1.||certainly - definitely or positively (`sure' is sometimes used informally for `surely'); "the results are surely encouraging"; "she certainly is a hard worker"; "it's going to be a good day for sure"; "they are coming, for certain"; "they thought he had been killed sure enough"; "he'll win sure as shooting"; "they sure smell good"; "sure he'll come"|
colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
if nothing is done there will certainly be an economic crisis → si no se hace nada, con toda certeza or sin duda alguna se producirá una crisis económica
your answer is almost certainly right → casi seguro que or casi con seguridad tu respuesta está bien
it is certainly true that → desde luego es verdad or cierto que ...
I will certainly get it finished by tomorrow → definitivamente lo termino para mañana
it's certainly better → desde luego es mucho mejor
this computer is certainly an improvement on the old one → este ordenador es sin ninguna duda mejor que el antiguo
it certainly impressed me → ya lo creo que me impresionó
I shall certainly be there → no faltaré, seguro que estaré
you certainly did that well → desde luego eso lo hiciste bien
I would certainly like to try → desde luego (que) me gustaría probar
such groups most certainly exist → esos grupos existen con toda seguridad
certainly madam! → ¡con mucho gusto, señora!, ¡por supuesto, señora!
"wouldn't you agree?" - "oh, certainly" → -¿estás de acuerdo? -sí, desde luego
"had you forgotten?" - "certainly not" → -¿se le había olvidado? -por supuesto que no or claro que no
"would you ever eat snake?" - "certainly not!" → -¿comerías serpiente? -¡qué va!
"will you accept his offer?" - "certainly not!" → -¿vas a aceptar su oferta? -¡qué va! or ¡de ninguna manera!
"can I go on my own?" - "certainly not!" → -¿puedo ir sola? -¡de eso nada! or ¡ni hablar!
I certainly expected something better → Je m'attendais vraiment à quelque chose de mieux.
So it was a surprise? - It certainly was!
BUT C'était donc une surprise? - Ça oui alors!.
certainly not! → certainement pas!
it's certainly true that ... → il ne fait aucun doute que ...