I think/I think that.

[metal56]

Quite a few linguists see a difference between:

I think...

and

I think that...

Do you?

[Lorikeet]

Could you be more specific in your examples? Do you mean the sentences,
"I think they're here." and "I think that they're here." for example?

(In which case, no surprise, I'm in the "They sound the same to me." group, except that I rarely use the "that" myself.)

[Norm Ryder]

I don't think I use 'that' much in speaking; but I sometimes find myself editing a 'that' back into a draft because without it there is a danger of ambiguity. So we're talking about the written text when you want to be absolutely safe from misunderstanding.
Unfortunately I can't think of a good example right now. Maybe something like this:
'I think when I'm writing a letter about something important I'll use 'that' if there's a danger of ambiguity without it.' .... Although even in that sentence I don't think there's much danger of ambiguity.

[metal56]

Lori

Yes, I do mean that usage.

Thanks.

[metal56]

Thanks Norm

This has got me going in the past few days and I've had lots of folks commenting on it:


The use of I think in modern Anglo discourse is also remarkable in another respect, in addition to its high frequency. As pointed out by a number of scholars, I think appears in spoken English in two variants, with and without that (I think that and I think Ø), and the pragmatic force of each variant (as well as its syntax and prosody) is different – so much so that Aijmer (1997) regards I think Ø, in contrast to I think that, as a discourse marker or a modal particle rather than a clause in its own right (cf. also Thompson and Mulac 1991).

http://cas.uchicago.edu/workshops/clcmh ... ring03.doc

I've written to Aijmer and asked her to comment.