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(1) We’ll need about 10 bottles of wine, I would think.

(2) We’ll need about 10 bottles of wine, I think.

What is the difference between them?

Does (1) sound less certain than (2)?

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  • You should cite the source (the dictionary's name) of the snippet.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 14 at 10:08
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    Does this answer your question? I would think ( that ) ... vs I think ...? Also "I would think" vs "I would have thought" and "would have thought" and "would think" and "I would say ... " vs " I think that ... " , are there any differences in meaning or use between saying them, among others.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 14 at 10:21
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    I doubt there's nothing useful in any of those earlier questions, answers, and comments. The answer is that Present Simple "I think X" is the most "direct" form, which may reflect greater confidence on the part of the speaker. Or it may just be from someone who's a "plain speaker". The more indirect form "I would think X" may reflect less confidence of the truth value of X, or it may be a context where the speaker is "socially outranked", and hesitant about expressing his opinions. Which may be even more relevant with more oblique forms such as "I would have thought X".
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 14 at 10:31
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    Not sufficiently that you should bother learning that. The individual speaker's personal preference, possibly affected by how "bold" he feels about saying what he thinks (regardless of how strongly he believe what he might wish to say) is usually going to be far more important than his subjective level of [un]certainty.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 14 at 12:32
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    What you need to understand is what I said before. Any difference in meaning between I think..., I would think..., and I would have thought ("fronted" or "appended") is too vague to be worth you spending time trying to learn and reproduce it. Just assume the choice of phrasing is random, so treat them all as equivalent when you hear / read them. And make life easy for yourself by sticking to Simple Present I think... for your own utterances. You'll never be "wrong", and there's nothing to be gained by "experimenting" with meaningless variations.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 14 at 14:26

2 Answers 2

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In reality there is no difference in meaning between "I think" and "I would think" but I retain there can be a nuance between the two forms.

I would think refers to knowledge based on the information that is available at that time.

  1. We’ll need about 10 bottles of wine, I would think.

For instance, the speaker knows there are 12 guests coming to a dinner party, none of whom are teetotallers but maybe one or two are heavy drinkers, so the speaker surmises that ten bottles will be more than enough.

Personal preference, not a rule as such, but I'd place "I think" at the beginning of the sentence

I think we'll need about 10 bottles of wine

when you express an opinion that is connected to the future, it's quite common to say "I think" followed by a clause (subject + verb).

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  • I suppose someone believes there is no difference in meaning but I think there is a slight nuance.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 14 at 10:33
  • How about the certainty. Does "I would think" sound less certain than "I think"?
    – LE123
    Commented Jun 14 at 10:52
  • It depends on the context, and who is speaking.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 14 at 10:59
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    If an expert is speaking, he or she is affirming their opinion more politely and more formally with "I would think". If a non-expert is speaking the "I would think" could be interpreted as a sign of greater hesitancy. Tone of voice also counts enormously.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 14 at 11:07
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    Hesitancy doesn't always imply uncertainty, sometimes it can be a polite and concealed way to "covering your ass" or a way to not fully commit to an idea. But, yeah if you want a simple "yes or no" answer, let's say "yes".
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 14 at 12:13
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Saying "We'll need ..., I think" means you are totally guessing.

Saying "We'll need ..., I would think" means you are making an educated guess based on your prior knowledge.

Neither implies hesitancy in the response.

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    Commented Jun 14 at 14:51

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