How to use the word THINK in English

Hi. I'm Gill at www.engvid.com,

and today we have a lesson on the word "think",

the use of "think". And it's used mostly as a verb, "I think".

I know. I mean, I know it

is used mostly as a verb. When we think, we are using our brain to think with, so okay.

"I think", I know. Okay, sorry. I'm going to confuse you.

So, as a verb, then very simple use. We use the word all the time. But here was a French

philosopher who used the word in a very famous thing that he said, which he wrote down:

"I think, therefore I am." So he was saying because he knows he's using his brain to think,

that proves to him that he exists, that he is, because he thinks.

So proof of existence,

using your brain. It's always a good idea to use your brain every day. Keep it active.

Okay. Learning a language, anything like that. So, very simple. We use it all the time.

"I think". Past tense, because it's an irregular verb: "thought".

So: "I thought", "you thought",

"he thought", "we thought",

"they thought".

Same all the time. Okay.

It's also sometimes used as a noun. You can have "a think" and you can have "a thought",

except in America or Canada, you can't have "a think" apparently.

I have been told on good authority that people in America and Canada do not say:

"Let me have a think."

They might say: "Let me think",

but maybe only in Britain, in the U.K. I don't know.

I can't speak for people in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, all the other places where

English is spoken. But anyway:

"Let me have a think" is fine if you're in the U.K.

But people in America and Canada will think you're a bit strange if you say that. So:

"Let me have a think."

But you can say: "I've just had a thought!"

And in America and Canada,

you can say that. So, there you go, the inconsistencies of language in different countries.

Very interesting.

So, "a think", "a thought", that is a noun. Okay.

So, let's move on, because it's mostly used as a verb, so we have some phrasal verbs where

the word "think" is combined with a preposition. So:

"What do you think of my idea?" That's:

What is your opinion?

"What do you think of my idea?" Okay?

Or if you see your friend

looking very thoughtful, you can ask:

"What are you thinking about?" Okay?

That's the subject in your mind: "What are you thinking about?"

And then if you have a problem and you need to really think about it very deeply in detail:

"I need to think this through." And here, sometimes with a phrasal verb,

the phrasal verb "to think through something",

to think about it in detail, is split and there's another

word in between. "This" meaning the problem that you have to think through. So:

"I need to think this through." Okay.

Then if somebody has some idea to do something, but you're being a little bit negative about

it, a little bit sarcastic because whenever that person has an idea, it can be a bit...

Mm. A bit strange. Things don't really work out, so:

"What has he thought up now?"

This person who's always having strange ideas, some new project which never really works.

"Ah, no. What has he thought up now?"

So "to think up something" is to create something,

to invent something. And it could be a good idea, but if you say it like this:

"What has he thought up now?" it can be fairly negative. Okay.

Right, so moving on, we have another set of examples, here.

So, you've been thinking of

moving house and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but then for various reasons,

you start to think:

"Mm, is it the right time?" So you might say to your partner:

"I know we agreed to move house, but we need to think again."

So, "to think again" is to reconsider.

Think again. It may be the wrong decision, let's think again and maybe come up with a

different result. Maybe we'll stay where we are for another year or two until the circumstances

are better. "To think again". All right.

If you read a plan for something and you think that's really good, very good:

"That plan has been really well thought out."

If you think something out, you consider all the

details, all the possibilities, everything that could happen. If things go wrong, what

to do if things go wrong. If you think something out, it means you're planning really well

for every possibility. Okay?

This one, somebody makes a suggestion for you, but you need to think about it, so you say:

"Let me think it over, and I'll let you know."

If you think something over, again,

you consider it in detail. You don't make a quick decision, you need to think over all

the implications of it, and then when I've thought it over, I will let you know what

I think about it, what decision I've come to. Okay?

This one is when you're planning what could happen in the future.

"We need to think ahead",

meaning into the future. "We need to think ahead, before deciding."

Maybe thinking for the next five years, thinking ahead what sort of things could happen.

What do we need to plan for before we decide? Maybe still, the idea of moving house,

we need to think ahead.

What are our plans for the next five years? Think ahead before deciding. Okay?

And then finally, instead of thinking into the future this time, we have someone thinking

back to the past, and somebody says:

"I was thinking back to my childhood."

Maybe a very elderly person, they have a certain look on their face, and you say:

"Ohh, what are you thinking about?"

And they say: "Ah, I was thinking back to my childhood."

Thinking what life was like when they were very young.

So, thinking back to the past is fairly obvious,

thinking back.

Okay, so that's a few examples of phrasal verbs using "think",

and "think" as a noun,

"think" as a very simple verb that's used a lot.

So I hope that's been helpful.

If you'd like to test yourself on this verb and this noun, please go to the website: www.engvid.com,

where there is a quiz. And if you enjoyed this lesson

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Okay, so hope to see you again very soon.

Bye for now.