What are the differences between "to think: to have a particular idea or opinion about something" & "to think: to have ideas in your mind"?

Question

In dictionary,

to think: [transitive, intransitive] (not used in the progressive tenses) to have a particular idea or opinion about something/somebody; to believe something

Ex: Do you think (that) they’ll come? (we don't say: are you thinking they'll come)

to think: [transitive] (usually used in the progressive tenses) to have ideas, words or images in your mind

Ex: You're very quiet. What are you thinking? (It sounds strange if we say: You're very quiet. What do you think?)

So what are the differences between:

I think he might be good for us.

I am thinking he might be good for us. (Maybe there will have some pauses between "... thinking" & "he might...")

Answer 1

Excellent question!

In a sentence, I could say:

I think she's pretty.

This means that, in my opinion, this certain person is attractive.

Now, for the other instance:

I think about her quite frequently.

This version means that I think about this person quite frequently. This person is in my thoughts, while the first example says only that I believe that the person is attractive.

There is no verbal difference between these two, though the main difference in their usage depends on the situation - to review, while both say 'I think', one expresses an opinion, while the other only refers to what we're thinking about.

I hope my explanation made sense. Feel free to ask any questions!