englishhobby
Key Member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2009
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- Russian
- Home Country
- Russian Federation
- Current Location
- Russian Federation
Are they absolutely identical in meaning?
:?:
:?:
So, can we say that "I believe you are right" = "You are certainly right" whileTo me, the former expresses greater certainty.
So, can we say that "I believe you are right" = "You are certainly right" while
"I think you are right" means someting like "You must be right"?
So, can we say that "I believe you are right" = "You are certainly right" while
"I think you are right" means someting like "You must be right"?
To me, the former expresses greater certainty.
I agree completely that they express different levels of certainty, but here, "I believe" is generally less certain than "I think" -- or rather, "I think" can go very strong, if you stress the pronoun, and quite moderate, if you stress both of the first two words equally, or favour the verb.
"I believe" is generally less certain than "I think" -- or rather, "I think" can go very strong, if you stress the pronoun, and quite moderate, if you stress both of the first two words equally, or favour the verb.
I believe you are right' = 'To the best of my knowledge you are right'.
'I think you are right' = 'My opinion is that you are right'.
Confused, englishhobby?In my opinion, "believe" is stronger than "think". And yes, spoken stress can make a difference.