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  1. The answers were there in my head, but I just couldn’t articulate them.

  2. The answers were there in my head, but I couldn’t articulate them.

I omitted just in the second sentence. What are the differences in meaning between these two sentences? Is just used for emphasis? How can I add emphasis to the sentence "I couldn't articulate them"?

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    What kind of emphasis do you have in mind? Note that ..., but I merely couldn't articulate them and ..., but I really/truly couldn't articulate them will convey different messages.
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented Nov 28, 2015 at 6:39
  • @Damkerng, I don't know the differences among "I merely couldn't articulate them" , "I really/truly articulate them", and "I just couldn't articulate them". I think I am going to learn some interesting fact from you. Please say what are the differences among them.
    – user17969
    Commented Nov 28, 2015 at 6:47
  • c2.com/cgi/wiki?JustIsaDangerousWord
    – Jasper
    Commented Nov 28, 2015 at 7:03
  • Both sentences convey almost the same meaning, with the subtle difference that you have used just in your first sentence for emphasizeing what you are saying in the but-clause.
    – Khan
    Commented Nov 28, 2015 at 9:59
  • If you're the writer, it would mean what you want it to mean in your context. If you're the reader, look around the sentence trying to get more context clues, and you should get the idea. I normally avoid answering a few kinds of questions, e.g., questions that have no contexts, that deal with too many possibilities, etc. Yours is both without context and about a vague word. Just is a vague word (click to see its 4 main senses). Could can have more than one meaning. The two answers already give you the likely reading.
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented Nov 28, 2015 at 13:10

3 Answers 3

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Sometimes the word "just" suggests that only a small difference would have had a major effect on the situation.

The train left five seconds ago. You just missed it.

I stretched my arm through the bars to pet the gorilla, but it was just out of my reach. Another inch closer and I'd have done it.

Sometimes the word "just" suggests that no matter how much effort one has put or could put into something, it is not going to be possible. Even a major difference would have no effect.

I stood on a ladder and jumped. I just couldn't reach that ledge. The prison wall was much too high. There was no way I was going to escape over the wall.

In your example about articulating ideas, the meaning is the latter. The words would not come at all. It was not that they were on the tip of your tongue, or that you could not find the perfect way to state the ideas; rather you found yourself wholly incapable of expressing them. The words simply would not come. The usage there implies utter frustration and futility, a great distance between oneself and one's goal.

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For me, native AmE speaker, the difference between "I couldn't" and "I just couldn't" is: "I couldn't" means "I was not able to" in the literal sense i.e. "I couldn't buy that car because I didn't have the money"; "I just couldn't" has the meaning (and emphasis) that one thought about/struggled with making a decision, i.e. "I just couldn't buy that car because it would be a waste of money."

So, in your example, "I couldn't articulate" would mean one was not able to due to a lack of vocabulary, whereas "I just couldn't" could mean "I really wanted to but I was too tired" or "I could not think of it in the moment."

Hope this helps...

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  • I agree that "just" suggests that there was effort or struggle, although it could still mean that you actually weren't able to - for example, "Try as I might, I just couldn't jump high enough to reach the apple hanging on the tree."
    – stangdon
    Commented Nov 28, 2015 at 14:54
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"I couldn’t articulate them." becomes "I simply was unable to articulate them" or "I was merely unable to articulate them" once you add the "just".

It is also used as a form of emphasis.

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  • I didn't get my solution properly. Please say more about it.
    – user17969
    Commented Nov 28, 2015 at 7:14

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