Thread: He'll do without (it)!

What's the difference between "He'll do without!" and "He'll do without it!"?

For example:
- He wants you to give him 100 bucks.
1) - He'll do without!
2) - He'll do without it!

They told me that the both are correct. But one German guy told me that there is a difference. In Russian it would be "обойдётся", as I understand...

Originally Posted by Оля

What's the difference between "He'll do without!" and "He'll do without it!"?

For example:
- He wants you to give him 100 bucks.
1) - He'll do without!
2) - He'll do without it!

They told me that _ both are correct. But this one German guy told me that there is a difference. In Russian it would be "обойдётся", as I understand...

Yes, there's a difference, but very slight, and if you mixed them up, it might not be noticed in every case.

"He'll do without" means that he will lack the thing whether he wants to or not.

"He'll do without it" simply means that he will обойтись without the thing.

It's difficult to define without a specific situation, but "to do without" is a set phrase which means "to lack [something]". If you add an object, it becomes more specific and closer to the logical meaning of the construction.

Спасибо. Только я не поняла, что значит "this one German guy".
Я хотела сказать "один немецкий парень (один парень-немец)".

Originally Posted by Оля

Спасибо. Только я не поняла, что значит "this one German guy".
Я хотела сказать "один немецкий парень (один парень-немец)".

Да, я это угадал.

Просто звучит не совсем по-английски. Вместо "один" в этом случае мы обычно используем неопределенный артикль (e.g. 'a guy'), как ты бессомненно знаешь, который то же передает смысл "один". Только в этом случае он несколько определенный (он ведь человек, который рассказал тебе об этом, в конкретном случае), поэтому "this guy" или "this one guy" звучит чуть-чуть лучше. Но "a guy" тоже звучит нормально.

Ты молодец!