When I came across this sentence, “What did you think of Bombyx Mori?”, in the Silkworm, I re-read CGEL’s page 909, which was led by @snailboat’s comment. Then, I thought out this construction: I think <something> of Bombyx Mori. But I can’t find out any of this structure in dictionaries. Isn’t this structure used in declaratives?
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Do you expect another word (or phrase) to be used instead of "something"? Or do you expect "I think something of Bombyx Mori" to be said without any substitutions? – Jasper Oct 9 '14 at 5:49
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@Jasper, I'd like to know both of them. (I don't suppose one excludes the other - am I wrong?) – Listenever Oct 9 '14 at 5:59
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1Probably except for "I think the best/worst/world of someone", the common expression would be "I think of [someone] as [something]." – Damkerng T. Oct 9 '14 at 17:16
Here are some possible substitutions. They sound old-fashioned to my (American) ear:
When I think of silkworms, I think only of Bombyx Mori.
I think well of Bombyx Mori.
I think ill of Bombyx Mori.
I think not of Bombyx Mori.
I think of Bombyx Mori every day.
I think highly of Bombyx Mori.
I think the world of Bombyx Mori. ("I think the world of..." is a superlative form of "I think well of..." or "I think highly of...".)
My mother told me to be nice, or keep my peace. So I say nothing of Bombyx Mori. ("about" sounds more natural to me than "of".)
Sometimes we take miracles for granted. I think nothing of Bombyx Mori.
Yes, I think something of Bombyx Mori! Do you want to know what I think of Bombyx Mori?
Most of these substitutions are adverbs, which modify "think".
