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Taka Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
I think
It is said that it's better to say:
I don't think he is American.
rather than
I think he is not American.
Is it still the same when I insert the I-think part in the middlle of the sentence, or put it at the end of the sentence?
I don't think he is American.
rather than
I think he is not American.
Is it still the same when I insert the I-think part in the middlle of the sentence, or put it at the end of the sentence?
Top answer
Let's try, shall we? I don't think he's American. I think he's not American.
- Let's try, shall we?
- I don't think he's American.
- I think he's not American.
- He's not, I think, American.
- He's, I don't think, American.
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6 Answers
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Let's try, shall we?
I don't think he's American.
I think he's not American.
He's not, I think, American.
He's, I don't think, American.
He's not American, I think.
He's American, I don't think.
Well, in this case, transferred negation does not work at all if the main clause is not initial, at least in my view-- although in casual convers
I don't think he's American.
I think he's not American.
He's not, I think, American.
He's, I don't think, American.
He's not American, I think.
He's American, I don't think.
Well, in this case, transferred negation does not work at all if the main clause is not initial, at least in my view-- although in casual convers
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But both
"he's, I don't think, American"
"he's American, I don't think"
are not correct, are they?
"he's, I don't think, American"
"he's American, I don't think"
are not correct, are they?
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You could hear them, as I say, in casual conversation, Pieanne. I was just considering conversation flow when I mentioned the possibility. As you can see, all of these permutations, what with the contractions and the informal topic, are unlikely to appear in formal writing anyway, unless as quotations of informal speech.
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OK, I just found them weird... I guess you'll need all the uh... ah... well... and face expressions then...
May I ask you something? Could you edit my name to simply "Anne"? I don't like "Annie" at all !
May I ask you something? Could you edit my name to simply "Anne"? I don't like "Annie" at all !
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It is said that it's better to say:
I don't think he is American.
rather than
I think he is not American.
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It's not a matter of it being better or worse, Taka. I would say that it's more a question of it being an unnatural usage when used as a stand-alone statement.
The first represents the normal neutral manner that
I don't think he is American.
rather than
I think he is not American.
++++++++++++++++
It's not a matter of it being better or worse, Taka. I would say that it's more a question of it being an unnatural usage when used as a stand-alone statement.
The first represents the normal neutral manner that
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