not for me/not right for me

J

Jennyxw

Member
Chinese
dear friends,
According to the dictionary, "for" can be used to show who can or should do sth. Is it OK to say " Foreign languages are not for me."? But there is no action verb in this sentence. Is action verb necessary in such sentences?
Is it acceptable to say "Foreign languages are not right for me."?
Thanks a lot!
 
    • Are you trying to figure out a way to describe your feelings about foreign languages, or are you trying to understand how to use the phrase “not right for me”? If the latter, you could use a different subject instead of “foreign languages.” For example, “red shirts are not right for me” or “jobs that involve public speaking are not right for me” would both be idiomatic in some contexts.
     
    Joetofu said:
    Are you trying to figure out a way to describe your feelings about foreign languages, or are you trying to understand how to use the phrase “not right for me”? If the latter, you could use a different subject instead of “foreign languages.” For example, “red shirts are not right for me” or “jobs that involve public speaking are not right for me” would both be idiomatic in some contexts.
    Click to expand...
    Thank you! I'm trying to figure out the use of "not right for me" and "not for me". I want to show that I have difficulty or no interest in learning foreign languages by saying "Foreign languages are not for me". The sentence shows that I can't learn foreign languages well, which I think action is implied. Therefore, "Foreign languages are not right for me." sounds a bit strange to me because "right" means "suitable". Am I thinking right🥺?
     
    Jennyxw said:
    I'm trying to figure out the use of "not right for me" and "not for me".
    Click to expand...
    Jennyxw said:
    Foreign languages are not for me.
    Click to expand...
    This use talks about your interest. It says "I am not interested in foreign languages".
    It is (to me) an unusual use of "for". I would almost call it a slang phrase.

    Jennyxw said:
    Foreign languages are not right/suitable for me.
    Click to expand...
    This is normal English. "Suitable for" is not the same as "interested in doing". A very short person might be interested in playing basketball, but the sport is not suitable for him (because he is not tall). A clumsy person might be interested in becoming a ballerina, but it isn't suitable for her.

    Jennyxw said:
    I want to show that I have difficulty or no interest in learning foreign languages by saying "Foreign languages are not for me". The sentence shows that I can't learn foreign languages well, which I think action is implied.
    Click to expand...
    Be careful. These are two different meanings. Saying "I have no interest in doing it" does not say "I can't do it well". There are countless people that have never tried to learn a foreign language, because they have no interest in doing it. They can't say "I can't do it well" if they didn't try.

    If you try, and you can't do it well, you might stop for that reason and say "I lost interest".
     
    As for me, who poorly speaks some Slavic languages, there is a common used phrase in everyday talks: "It is not for me". The phrase literally may convey the meaning that something exists and it was not created for me. Time flies by. Nowadays the statement "Numbers are not for me" might sound very odd even for those who never knew about how they were invented.
     
    If I said "foreign languages are not for me", I would be trying to imply that I find the idea of foreign languages as rather repugnant.

    Foreign travel is not for me. I tried it once, but never again. I'm much happier staying here, where I feel safe.
     
    Last edited:
    dojibear said:
    This use talks about your interest. It says "I am not interested in foreign languages".
    It is (to me) an unusual use of "for". I would almost call it a slang phrase.


    This is normal English. "Suitable for" is not the same as "interested in doing". A very short person might be interested in playing basketball, but the sport is not suitable for him (because he is not tall). A clumsy person might be interested in becoming a ballerina, but it isn't suitable for her.


    Be careful. These are two different meanings. Saying "I have no interest in doing it" does not say "I can't do it well". There are countless people that have never tried to learn a foreign language, because they have no interest in doing it. They can't say "I can't do it well" if they didn't try.

    If you try, and you can't do it well, you might stop for that reason and say "I lost interest".
    Click to expand...
    Thank you! So "Foreign languages are not for me" can be used to show that I'm not interested in foreign languages, I have difficulty in learning foreign languages or I can't learn them well, based on the context, right?
     
    Jennyxw said:
    So "Foreign languages are not for me" can be used to show that I'm not interested in foreign languages, I have difficulty in learning foreign languages or I can't learn them well, based on the context, right?
    Click to expand...
    Wrong. That is not what I said.

    I said the phrase CAN be used to say that I'm not interested,
    but the phrase CAN'T be used to say that I have difficulty doing it well.
     
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