# No puedo recordar



## Jeremy gilvert

Hola quiera aclarar unas dudas…
  Cuando usamos la frase* “think of*” *para recordar algo, por ejemplo:* *“I can´t “think of”  Where i left the keys”.  (No puedo recordar adonde deje´ las llaves).
*
---Entonces,* ¿es lo mismo si comparamos dicha frase con “remember”? ¿serian lo mismo?*

*“I can´t remember Where i left the keys”.*







Bueno es todo espero su ayuda.


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## not me

Más o menos igual... sinónimos. Sí. 

Aunque en la realidad los sinónimos no existen... siempre hay matices.


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## chotyWoH

No entiendo el por qué del uso de ese "of"... Podrías decir "I can't think where I left my keys" 
Corregidme si me equivoco.


*think [sth]* _vtr_(remember)recordar⇒ _vtr_ Can you think what we did last weekend? ¿Puedes recordar qué hicimos el pasado fin de semana?


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## not me

Can you think what we did last weekend?  No me suena bien. Con *of* sí


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## chotyWoH

No sé como sonará, pero está sacado del diccionario de Word Reference
http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=think+of
tercera acepción empezando por abajo.


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## Bevj

Estoy de acuerdo con chotyWoH.
I can't think where I left the keys.
I can't think what we did last weekend.
(Pero esta última sería más normal decir 'I cant remember....')


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## not me

I can't really explain why that sentence appears in the Wordreference dictionary. It all depends upon your goal. Is it to speak decent English, or perhaps English that may have been used a couple of times in the history of the world? That's your choice. My thinking is that I don't like to leave poor English as a model for anyone to study on this forum.  


A very simple test: 

Google "Can you think what we did"  

There are 5 (five) results, almost all from wordreference.com

Google "Can you think of what we did"

93.000.000 results.


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## Bevj

I only see 15 results for 'Can you think of what we did' if you actually click on page 2 of the results.
I strongly disagree that 'Can you think what we did?' is poor English used by people who don't wish to speak 'decent English'.

(However, I would certainly not use the verb 'think' at all in this sentence, preferring 'remember'.)


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## not me

me too......


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## eno2

Makes me think of the famous and by the BBC rewarded Belgian world music group "Think of one", which sounds very good. "Think one" sounds bad.


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## Bevj

eno2 said:


> Makes me think of the famous and by the BBC rewarded Belgian world music group "Think of one", which sounds very good. "Think one" sounds bad.



However, this is not the same construction.


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## donbill

Interesting! I definitely prefer 'of' in this situation. I can't remember where I left my keys = I can't think of where I left my keys. I'll say, however, that I'd more than likely use 'remember'.

I can't remember her name = I can't think of her name. I definitely would not say *"I can't think her name."

The distinction here is very subtle! 'Think of [something]' can mean, more or less, 'ocurrirsele algo a alguien' as well as, in certain contexts, 'remember something'. I hate to say it, but I think this one defies explanation.

Saludos


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## Jeremy gilvert

Mmm... Entonces, no me queda tan claro si puedo usar el "think of" de esa manera... O´ ¿este think of, se usa de esa manera pero, solo en algunos casos?... Por favor expliquen.
Y que al fin son iguales?...


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## eno2

not me said:


> Más o menos igual... sinónimos. Sí.
> 
> Aunque en la realidad los sinónimos no existen... siempre hay matices.


Yes.

As of "think of" or "think", better use think of.


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## inib

Jeremy gilvert said:


> Mmm... Entonces, no me queda tan claro si puedo usar el "think of" de esa manera... O´ ¿este think of, se usa de esa manera pero, solo en algunos casos?... Por favor expliquen.
> Y que al fin son iguales?...


Bueno, yo coincido con Bevj y chotyWoH. No incluiría el "of" en los ejemplos de las llaves y del fin de semana. Y creo que todos coincidimos con Donbill en que sí que emplearíamos "of" en el ejemplo _I can't remember her name = I can't think of her name.
_Quizá la diferencia consiste en que los británicos, por lo menos, no metemos el "of" delante de una oración subordinada. ¿Qué opináis?


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## Lis48

I'm British and I would always put in an "of"in your sentence with the keys! 
But I think there is a slight difference which is clearer in this example.
"I can't think of when he leaves and goes to Afghanistan" ... I don't want to think about it. Sense of imagining the event.
"I can't think when he leaves and goes to Afghanistan" ... I can't remember the actual date. Sense of remembering a fact.
The use of "of" seems to emphasise the object/event rather than the verb. 

Stick to using "remember"!


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## inib

Lis48 said:


> I'm British and I would always put in an "of"!
> *Oh dear, another theory down the drain!
> *...
> 
> Stick to using "remember"!
> *Good advice*


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## mijoch

Seems to me that different structures are getting mixed up.

"What do you think of bubble and squeak?"

"What do think bubble and squeak is?"

In BE, "I can't think of where I left..." is wrong.


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## Lis48

mijoch;14480360 ... In BE said:
			
		

> I would argue that it's regional in BE but certainly not wrong!
> Everyone in my family says it and I hope you are not suggesting we are uneducated!


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## eno2

1]  "I can't think what happened"
google: 6.000.000 hits
2] "I can't think of what happened"
google 430.000.000 hits

Perhaps there's a difference in meaning? Or not? And what does it mean? 
1] Imagine or remember?
2] Imagine or remember?


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## mijoch

Hi Lis

Of course you're more literate than l.

Us maths teachers are a boring lot.

"I can't think of a good answer to your post."

"I can't think how to answer your post."

Could well be a minor regional thing.

Cheers


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## mijoch

Hi eno

I see those as different issues.

"I think of...". think about what happened.

"I think.,..". think that something happened.

Your "imagine/remember" helps. With "of"-imagine.

Without "of"-remember.

"can't think where" has stood me in good stead for 77 years minus 2 days. I ain't going to change now.


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## eno2

mijoch said:


> Hi eno
> 
> I see those as different issues.
> 
> "I think of...". think about what happened.
> 
> "I think.,..". think that something happened.
> 
> Your "imagine/remember" helps. With "of"-imagine.
> 
> Without "of"-remember.
> 
> "can't think where" has stood me in good stead for 77 years minus 2 days. I ain't going to change now.


Hola
Enhorabuena con tu cumpleaños.


¿Consideras "I can't think of where" como un  error o como una simple diferencia regional?


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## mijoch

Thanks eno

To me "think of where" in the OP sounds wrong.

I can't think of where I parked the car" actually hurts. What does "of where" mean?

But I have to respect the views and experiences of others. 

Alternative forms?

There is a form in older English--whereof.

Maybe this has an effect on older people. It may do so on me when I get old.

Saludo


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## eno2

Strange. 
It seems like you have to feel it, not think of it, when to use "think" or "think of". And that there are no set rules for the use or omission of "to".


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## Mexico RV'er

Unless I overlooked someone, it seems all the responses so far have come from the other side of the pond. I can't speak for all of the US, but to me the appropriate response would be "I can't *remember* where I left . . . /what I did . . ."  To "think *of* something" means to have an opinion about it. I wouldn't use it in this context. I'm sure there are those who say, "I can't think where I left the keys, etc." but I do not believe it is the preferred form.


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## chotyWoH

Thanks for such an interesting discussion. But definitely, I'll always use 'remember'.


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## Mexico RV'er

chotyWoH said:


> Thanks for such an interesting discussion. But definitely, I'll always use 'remember'.



You can't go wrong with that!  Have a great day! MX


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## Jeremy gilvert

Pues la verdad con tantas opiniones, no veo tan clara las cosas, entonces me sigo preguntando, ¿cuándo debo usar el "think of" con el sentido de recordar algo?...
¿Depende de la situación? no lo sé... Y que hay con "Remember" ¿se usa más que "think of" ?...  Por favor aclaren.


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## eno2

Too me, in "I can't think where I left my keys", "I can't think" has the meaning of _*"no idea"*_. No idea where I left my keys. Of course, that infers that you can't remember where you put them in the first place. But it doesn't sound quite the same. 

Let's practice my idea of "no idea" a bit:

I can't think why they did that. (nothing to do with "remember")

I can't think how much investment this project must have taken (nothing to do with "remember")

I can't think what that expression stands for (nothing to do with "remember")

I can't think what enlightenment means in Buddhism. (nothing to do with "remember")

etc...

I can't think= no idea= I can't imagine=ni idea= no puedo imaginar

What do the native speakers think of (about?) this?


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## Mexico RV'er

I can't give you a rule. I can only tell you what I would say. I *think* you are over-using *think.*




eno2 said:


> Too me, in "I can't think where I left my keys", "I can't think" has the meaning of _*"no idea"*_. No idea where I left my keys. Of course, that infers that you can't remember where you put them in the first place. But it doesn't sound quite the same.
> 
> Let's practice my idea of "no idea" a bit:
> 
> I can't think why they did that. (nothing to do with "remember")  I have no idea why they did that./I don't know why they did that./I can't *think of *any reason for them to do that.
> I can't think how much investment this project must have taken (nothing to do with "remember") I have no idea . . ./I can't imagine
> 
> I can't think what that expression stands for (nothing to do with "remember")  I have no idea . .. /I don't know . . ./I can't imagine
> 
> I can't think what enlightenment means in Buddhism. (nothing to do with "remember") I don't know . . / I have no idea . . .
> 
> etc...
> 
> I can't think= no idea= I can't imagine=ni idea= no puedo imaginar   Personally, I would not use *think* in any of the above examples.
> 
> What do the native speakers think of (about?) this?  My English in native US and is not limited to a particular region. I don't know if this answers your question or not, but I hope it helps.  MX


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## eno2

Thanks.

It confirms th eperception that the sentence of the PO is of rather unusual use. Nevertheless, Mijoch said this:


> "I can't think where" has stood me in good stead for 77 years minus 2 days. I ain't going to change now.


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## SkintheGoat

Hmmn, this is tricky.  Personally I would never use the 'of' if I meant that I was unable to remember what happened.  To me, the construction 'I can't think of what happened' would mean that I found it painful to think of the event, that thinking of it upset me.  But again, this may be just me, and in any case I'd be more likely to use 'remember.'  

On another tack, God help us all if the number of Google hits is to become the standard by which we judge anything.


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## Mexico RV'er

SkintheGoat said:


> Hmmn, this is tricky.  Personally I would never use the 'of' if I meant that I was unable to remember what happened.  To me, the construction 'I can't think of what happened' would mean that I found it painful to think of the event, that thinking of it upset me.  But again, this may be just me, and in any case I'd be more likely to use 'remember.'
> 
> On another tack, God help us all if the number of Google hits is to become the standard by which we judge anything.



I agree with you on all points!


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## eno2

Mexico RV'er said:


> I agree with you on all points!



Yes, it's the best explanation of I can't think of one could think of so far.


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## Mexico RV'er

eno2 said:


> Yes, it's the best explanation of I can't think of one could think of so far.



Happy Birthday to you.


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