Question 1

Since this lesson is about судя по (judging by), could I use it here instead of я предполагаю?

Accepted Answer

Not exactly as written. Судя по requires you to explicitly state the evidence for your conclusion in the Dative case (e.g., судя по его лицу, judging by his face). Я предполагаю (I assume) is used when you are just stating your hypothesis or belief without citing the direct evidence in the same phrase.

Question 2

How exactly does the particle вряд ли work here? Does it need a negative verb?

Accepted Answer

Вряд ли means 'unlikely' or 'hardly.' It is usually placed directly before the word it modifies (here, the verb поймёт). Even though it expresses a negative idea in English, in Russian it does not take the negative particle не. You just use the standard affirmative verb form alongside it.

Question 3

Could I change the word order to что вряд ли он поймёт?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Placing вряд ли immediately after что is very common and sounds completely natural. It puts a slightly stronger emphasis on your doubt right at the beginning of the clause, while the original word order (он вряд ли поймёт) is just a bit more neutral.

Question 4

Why use the perfective future поймёт rather than the imperfective будет понимать?

Accepted Answer

Grasping the meaning of a specific gesture is seen as a sudden, one-time result (an 'aha!' moment). The perfective aspect captures this completion. The imperfective будет понимать would imply a continuous or repeated process, which does not fit the context of reacting to a single gesture.

Я предполагаю, что он вряд ли поймёт этот жест.

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