Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 3: 1/18

と思(おも)うI think

Structure

Verb + と思(おも)う(1)
［い］Adjective + と思(おも)う(1)
［な］Adjective + だ + と思(おも)う(1)
Noun + だ + と思(おも)う(1)

(1) と思(おも)っている

Details

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    Standard

About とおもう

To express that you 'think' something in Japanese, the common expression と思(おも)う is regularly used. As you can probably guess, this is just a combination of the particle と, plus the う-Verb 思(おも)う. とおもう can be used after any verb, い-Adjective, な-Adjective, or noun, but will require だ after a noun or な-Adjective.

Although this structure usually requires だ after nouns and な-Adjectives, it is often omitted in casual speech.

Caution

If you want to express what somebody else is thinking, と思(おも)っている will be used. This is due to と思(おも)う having a sense of 'permanence', and thus not something that the speaker could know about another person. と思(おも)っている can also be used to express your own thoughts when they are currently happening.

Related

Examples

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    このズボンはいいと思(おも)います。

    I think these pants are good.

    今日(きょう)、雨(あめ)が降(ふ)ると思(おも)った。

    I thought that it was going to rain today.

    そうだと思(おも)います。

    I think so.

    それは凄(すご)いと思(おも)います。

    I think that is amazing.

    ダメだと思(おも)いますよ。

    I think it is no good. (Not allowed)

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とおもう – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

  • jprspereira

    jprspereira

    Maybe worth mentioning だと when na adjective/noun (infinitive form)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Great idea!

  • pasi

    pasi

    I keep getting "そう＿＿＿＿” (I think so) wrong. Why is "思います” an accepted answer (without the initial と) Why do I need だ if I include と？そう is a na adjective?

    Edit: okay I seem to have mistyped it a number of times. I think the answer is correct (with だ … although I’m still a little unsure why it’s needed)

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