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?
asked Oct 9, 2014 at 5:44
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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?– JasperCommented Oct 9, 2014 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?)– ListeneverCommented Oct 9, 2014 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.Commented Oct 9, 2014 at 17:16
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1 Answer
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".
