Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Suntzu]

This might seem like a stupid question to some, but if you can help I would appreciate it. Please don't bite my head off! (go to another thread)
One of my students asked me what is the difference between, What do you think about? and What do you think of?

[Ya-ta Boy]

I'd say there is no difference between 'of' and 'about' in those questions. Just a variation of expression.

[visviva]

"Think of" often carries an evaluative meaning. "I think a lot of her" means that I think very highly of her. "I think very little of her" means the opposite. Evaluative adverbs can substitute for magnitude here. Thus "I think very little of her" = "I think very poorly of her."

On the other hand, "think about" just refers to thinking on a particular subject. "I think a lot about her" means that she is frequently on my mind -- but not necessarily in a good way.

Thus, someone who says "I think a lot about President Bush" is probably concerned about the fate of the world. Someone who says "I think a lot of President Bush," on the other hand, is evil and/or insane.

Of course, "think of" without such modifiers just means, having a thought. As in, "What do you think of when you hear the word 'tiger'?" In this sense "think of" and "think about" are largely interchangeable, although still not exactly the same. "I just thought of something" means I had a new idea, while "I just thought about something" means that there is some kind of activity in my brain. For some speakers, of course, this may still be newsworthy.