90. Thinking & Saying
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Vocabulary
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Grammar
I think (that)...
Use ～と思う when you want to share your opinion or feeling about something. Put what you think before と思う. It's like saying "I think that..." in English. This is your go-to pattern for expressing opinions.
Pattern
[sentence] + と思う
[sentence] + と思います
[sentence] + と思う (casual) [sentence] + と思います (polite) If the sentence ends with a な-adjective or noun, add だ before と: いい + と思う → いいと思う 好きだ + と思う → 好きだと思う 大丈夫だ + と思う → 大丈夫だと思う
Examples
- と思う is for your own opinions and feelings. You can't use it to state facts - "Tokyo is in Japan" doesn't need と思う.
- To say what someone else thinks, add the person's name: 友達もそう思います (My friend thinks so too).
to say (that)...
Use ～と言う to report what someone said. Put the words or idea before と言う. It's like saying "(someone) said that..." in English. You can report exact words or just the general idea.
Pattern
[what was said] + と言う
[what was said] + と言います
[what was said] + と言う (casual) [what was said] + と言います (polite) [what was said] + と言った (casual past) [what was said] + と言いました (polite past) Exact quote: 「おはよう」と言った General idea: いいと言った
Examples
- Use そう言う to mean "say so" or "say that" - 先生もそう言いました (The teacher said so too).
- と言う works for both exact quotes and general ideas. For exact words, you can use quotation marks: 「ありがとう」と言った.
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