"think to oneself" 是一个常用短语,意为“心里想;暗自思忖;自言自语(但不发出声音,仅内心活动)”。
它强调思考过程是“私下的、不对外表达的”,即想法只在自己脑海中盘旋,没有说出口。
主语 + think to oneself + 从句/直接引语(表达具体想法)
注意:反身代词(oneself)需与主语保持人称一致:
第一人称:I think to myself(我心里想)
第二人称:You think to yourself(你暗自思忖)
第三人称:He/She thinks to himself/herself;They think to themselves
接that从句(陈述内心想法):
I thought to myself that I should call my mom before going out.
(我心里想,出门前应该给妈妈打个电话。)
She thought to herself that the exam was harder than expected.
(她暗自思忖,考试比想象中难。)
接直接引语(模拟内心的“独白”):
When he saw the broken vase, he thought to himself, "Oh no, Mom will be angry."
(当他看到打碎的花瓶时,心里想:“糟糕,妈妈会生气的。”)
We thought to ourselves, "This party is so boring—let's leave early."
(我们暗自想:“这个派对太无聊了——咱们早点走。”)
一般现在时:He often thinks to himself when he's alone.(他独处时经常暗自思考。)
一般过去时:I thought to myself yesterday that I need to exercise more.(我昨天心里想,得多锻炼了。)
不能省略反身代词:不能说 "think to me/him/her",必须用反身代词(myself/himself等),否则语法错误。
与"say to oneself"的区别:"say to oneself" 更强调“小声自言自语”(可能发出微弱声音),而"think to oneself" 完全是内心活动,没有声音。
"think to oneself" 是描述“内心想法”的高频短语,核心是“不对外说的思考”。只要记住反身代词与主语一致,并搭配从句或直接引语,就能正确使用啦!