Prepositions Make a Difference: “THINK OF” or “THINK ABOUT”?

Ah, hey, don't think of a pink elephant.

It's impossible not to think of one when I tell you not to think of it, right? So, hey everyone,

I'm Alex, thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on tricky English prepositions.

Here, we are going to look at the use of think of and think about. So, I'm not going to waste

any time. Let's jump right into it. At the beginning of this video, I said don't think

of a pink elephant. Now, when I'm asking you to think of something, I'm asking for something to

come to your mind, an idea, an image, a flash. So, if something, if you think of something,

it comes to your mind. You can also use think of to ask about people's opinions, but let's start

with coming to your mind, something that comes quickly, a thought. I thought of a great idea.

I thought of an excellent question to ask the teacher. So, when you have a moment where you're

like, aha, that is you thinking of something, okay? So, that instant moment of mental creation

is you thinking of something. Now, another way and a very common context to use think of is

when you have a position in a company that is open, like a job that becomes available,

and you think of someone for a particular job. So, you might tell your boss/friend,

think of me if the position is still open, okay? So, I want you to keep me in your mind,

or if the position is open, think of me, okay? I want you to think of me. I want me to be in

your mind the moment the position is available. I also mentioned you can use think of to ask about

opinions. Now, in speaking, think of and think about are sometimes used interchangeably in this

context, but think of is more common. So, I would stick with think of when you're asking how someone

feels about something or someone. So, for example, what did you think of the concert?

Again, you could say, what did you think about the concert? But it's more common to say,

think of, because when you're asking for someone, when you're asking someone what they thought of

something, you're asking for like their instant reaction, right? What is their, the first thing

that comes to their mind? I thought, usually we use good, or I thought it was bad or boring.

What did you think of it? Oh, I thought it was good. I thought it was not good, for example.

You can also ask, so, what do you think of Brenda's new boyfriend? I don't know. What do

you think of Brenda's new boyfriend? Next, I just thought of something. Okay, so again, that snap,

flash moment of mental creation of something that just comes to your mind immediately,

those are the situations where you use think of. So, you think of ideas, you think of things,

you think of people, you consider people for positions and companies. Now, let's move on to

think about. So, when you think about something, you consider it or you think about it for a longer

period of time. So, for example, please think about what I said. So, if we had a conversation,

I gave you some advice, and I want you to think about what I said carefully. Think about the

pluses, the minuses, or the pros and the cons, and tell me your final opinion. Tell me, you will think

about what I said, okay? And right now, you're thinking about everything that we are doing in

this video, and you're not thinking about a pink elephant, because if you think about it, you're

thinking about it for a long time. Please think about what I said. You know, I've been thinking

about our last conversation. Like, I have been periodically considering it, and it hasn't been

able to leave my mind. So, I just, I've kept thinking about it. And next, I've thought about

it, and my answer is no. So, I have considered the options. I have considered and thought

what we discussed, and unfortunately for you or for whomever, the answer is no. That's it.

Okay. Think of, think about. Flash moments of thought. Longer periods of consideration.

When you think, when you think about something, think of me doing this.

Yes, yes, that is interesting. Okay, so again, I thought about it, and yeah, it was okay.

So, let me ask you, what did you think of this video? Let me know in the comments. And if you're

not 100% sure if you understand everything that we have discussed here today, go to engvid.com

and do the quiz to help you practice. Watch this video again. Pause it. Repeat what I said.

Look at the examples. Repeat the examples. Exercise your English. And until next time,

well, before next time, go to YouTube. Like the video. Share it. Subscribe to my channel.

Comment down below. What did you think of this video?

Take care. Good luck. Don't think of a pink elephant.