12 English expressions using 'THINK'

Native English speakers love to use expressions to show how they feel and think. In this lesson, I will teach you 12 common expressions that use the verb "think". Some examples include "It’s later than you think", "Don’t think better of it", "Don’t think twice", and "think big". Watch the video to add some useful expressions to your English. You will think the world of this lesson! https://www.engvid.com/12-think-expressions/

TRANSCRIPT

Hi. I’m Gill at www.engvid.com and today we’re going to have a look at some expressions using the word "think". Okay? We’ve already had the lesson on the use of "think". This is more to do with expressions now, particular meanings.

So, let’s have a look at the first example. And if you say: "What was I thinking?!" or "What were you thinking?!" and especially if you have a question mark and an exclamation mark afterwards-"What was I thinking?! Why did I do that?", "Why did you do that? What were you thinking?!"-it’s like a criticism either of yourself or someone else because of something they have done. "Why did they do that? It was stupid. What were you thinking?! Oh, dear." Don’t do it again, whatever it was. Okay, so that’s a very useful expression. But you have to be a bit careful, though, how you use it. Be careful who you criticize. Uh-huh. Okay.

Next one, this is somebody who thinks too much without doing anything, so: "She tends to overthink things." Meaning she thinks about doing things or she dwells on things too much, maybe she gets a little bit depressed because she thinks too much. Too much thinking, not enough action is not always a good thing. It depends what the action is, of course. But: "She tends to overthink things." And the more you think about something, maybe the harder it is to actually do it, so you need a balance. Okay?

Now, this is about somebody’s opinion of themselves. So: "He thinks of himself as a great artist." Okay? So he’s not very modest. He’s an artist, he paints paintings maybe, and he thinks he’s really good. So for people to have a really high opinion of themselves is not always a good thing. A little bit of modesty is always useful. Okay? So: "He thinks of himself as a great artist." It sounds a little bit like a criticism. You know, he has a high opinion of himself. Okay.

Now, this one: "It’s later than you think!" It is like a warning. It could be in a… In a horror film, a horror movie or something, you know, The Martian, The Landing: "It’s later than you think!" It seems to have an American accent with it. Sort of something to frighten people. It could be part of an entertainment, though, like a film. It doesn’t always mean just literally: "Oh, you think it’s 3 o’clock and it’s actually 4 o’clock. It’s later than you think." It’s an hour later than you think. So you could use it that way, but it usually has a special meaning to make people worry a little bit. Maybe people advertising, trying to sell insurance, life insurance. "How old are you? 40. It’s later than you think and you haven’t taken out life insurance yet. What will happen to your family if anything happens to you? It’s later than you think." So companies, you know, insurance companies especially try to worry people, so you can be aware of that.

Okay, next example: "Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her for a month or two." So, you’re saying: "Well, now… Now I’m thinking about it, about that woman, now I’m thinking about her, I haven’t seen her for a month or two." So you weren’t aware that you hadn’t seen her, but then when somebody mentions her name: "Oh, yeah, come to think of it, I haven’t seen her for some time." So: "Come to think of it" is quite a useful phrase. Okay?

Next one, if someone says: "Oh, I’m just thinking aloud." or "I’m just thinking out loud." they’re saying things, they’re saying their thoughts, and maybe they don’t make a lot of sense sometimes. If you say what you’re thinking all the time, it can be very strange for other people. If you’re speaking your thoughts all the time you have to be careful to select a little bit. If someone’s having some ideas for a project and they’re sort of brainstorming-yeah?-they’re thinking aloud, thinking of different ideas… Thinking usually is silent, inside your head. But if you’re saying what you’re thinking, you’re thinking aloud or you’re thinking out loud. You’re speaking your thoughts. And if you say: "Oh, don’t… Don’t mind me. I’m just thinking aloud. Don’t take any notice of me. These are just my thoughts." You know? I have to arrange them later into some sort of order and sense. Okay? So, just thinking aloud.

Right, moving on. If you have an idea, but then later you’re not quite sure it’s a good idea, you say: "I did have an idea, but I’ve thought better of it." Meaning: "Well, it wasn’t such a good idea. I thought better of it", meaning I’m not going to do that now, that idea.