I don’t think you/it/etc. …

Vs

I think you/it/etc. don’t …

 

 

 

Study these 2 sentences:

 

I don’t think it is going to rain tomorrow.

I think it is not going to rain tomorrow.

 

*Both sentences are grammatically correct, and both basically mean the same.

Question: What is different between the two sentences?

 Answer : Sudden thought

 

 

“I don’t think it is going to rain tomorrow”

= you’ve thought, for at least a little while, that it won’t rain.

( It is not a sudden thought)

 “I don’t think you/it/etc. …” is used much more often in American English.

 

 

 

“I think it is not going to rain tomorrow”

=  Suddenly, you are thinking it is not going to rain tomorrow.

*has more emphasis on “I think” than the other sentence.

When you start a sentence with “I think,” it usually is a sudden insight. ( Just now, you thought it. )

 

 

 

Ex: I don’t think I’m going to the party tonight.

= I’ve thought about it, and I don’t think I will go the party.

I think I’m not going to the party tonight.

= Just now, I’m thinking I’m not going to the party.

 

 

Ex: I don’t think she loves me.

= I thought about it, and I don’t think she loves me.

I think she doesn’t love me.

= Just now, I’m thinking she doesn’t love me.

 

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