Expounding On the Use Of the Phrase "Don't Think"

Discussion in 'Evolution of Language' started by Von Jones, Feb 4, 2015.

  1. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 18, 2017
    Messages:
    9,417
    Likes Received:
    16,552
    I don't think...um ..to me ...just means ..the situation has not been thoroughly evaluated. It has been thought about but not in complete entirety
     
    #16
    Micki Pembroke and Bess Barber like this.
  2. Ed Wilson

    Ed Wilson Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2019
    Messages:
    2,122
    Likes Received:
    3,852
    I thought that diagramming the sentence like I was taught in grammar school would help but I forgot how to do that. Sister Mary Immaculata would not be pleased.
     
    #17
  3. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2015
    Messages:
    6,819
    Likes Received:
    9,760
    After reading some of the comments in response to the OP on the website they were pretty challenging but I understood the OP right away.
     
    #18
    Micki Pembroke and Ken Anderson like this.
  4. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2019
    Messages:
    3,760
    Likes Received:
    7,604
    I used the phrase frequently. The reason why is wanting to be polite. If I just give my opinion, then it seems as though I may be assuming I am right and those with a different opinion are wrong. I prefer to say 'I think' to let people know that I'm aware this is only my personal opinion and may not be correct at all.
    Unless I say..... I think I have crappy grammar skills. Then, I'm probably speaking for anyone who knows me. :D
     
    #19
    Micki Pembroke and Von Jones like this.
  5. Jess Santorio

    Jess Santorio Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2016
    Messages:
    54
    Likes Received:
    15
    To think is what living things with a brain do - with their brain.

    Non-living things have no brain, so they don't think.

    Robots are not living things, they don't have brain, so they don't think.

    Dear Von, suppose - and forgive me, you do some serious thinking and tell me in just less than a 100 words, what is the point you are making exactly about the phrase, don't think.
     
    #20
  6. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2015
    Messages:
    6,819
    Likes Received:
    9,760
    It's just a personal observation how the phrase is used, has been used and will continue to be used. I found that I am not the only one who has posed this observation to others on this link https://painintheenglish.com/case/286.
     
    #21
  7. Jess Santorio

    Jess Santorio Well-Known Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2016
    Messages:
    54
    Likes Received:
    15
    The phrase, "don't think," is perfectly all right with me, as long as people using it do get to effectively communicate among themselves.
     
    #22
  8. Bob Kirk

    Bob Kirk Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2019
    Messages:
    389
    Likes Received:
    690
    Doesn't don't believe take thinking about what you don't believe?

    Maybe the phrase don't think is used to avoid confrontation. Saying I think you are wrong automatically puts a person on the defensive.
     
    #23
  9. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2015
    Messages:
    6,819
    Likes Received:
    9,760
    #24
    Micki Pembroke likes this.
  10. Emily Brown

    Emily Brown Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2020
    Messages:
    1,116
    Likes Received:
    757
    What an interesting subject! :D

    I don’t think that all the Native English Speakers in this forum will necessarily satisfy my curiosities, considering that English is complex.

    ^^That construction implies that the speaker concerns about a probability, or at least a possibility. It signifies that a denial is positively made to assert something.

    “Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.” ~ Noam Chomsky

    Take care everyone! xxx

    Emily, a Non Native English Speaker :D


     
    #25
    Von Jones likes this.

Share This Page