I don't think that VS I think that ~not I wrote this sentence:"I think that I have never seen foreign learners use it." And my friend said, "I don’t think I have ever seen “I think I have never” used.

Gil-seop

I don't think that VS I think that ~not I wrote this sentence:"I think that I have never seen foreign learners use it." And my friend said, "I don’t think I have ever seen “I think I have never” used." I thought that the structure went for only the case of "have + past participle". Yesterday, I wrote this sentence: "I think that we don't need to relate him to the movie.". And my other friend changed it to "I don't think that we need to relate him to the movie." Don't you say "I think that ~not" in any cases? Thank you!

Jul 9, 2015 2:45 PM

Answers · 13

It isn't usual to say 'I think' followed by a negative statement. Instead, we use 'I don't think' followed by an affirmative statement. Your friend is right. "I think that I have never seen foreign learners use it." is an odd thing to say. "I don't think that I have ever seen foreign learners use it." is the normal way of saying this.

July 9, 2015

I think the only time where you'll see something like that is the phrase "I think not." You can use it in an extended sentence, in something like "I think that whilst ___is not ____, _____" As a rule of thumb, "I think" is followed by the agreeing sentiment, and "I don't think" is followed by the disagreeing sentiment

July 9, 2015

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