800 - だろうと思う(だろうとおもう)

This is our 800th lesson!

We try to come up with a lot of tricksy study tactics at NihongoShark, but maybe I should just be saying, "Read every NDL."

Few things will boost your comprehension more than reading 800+ high-quality lessons.



Anyway, focus time...
 

JLPT N4: だろうと思う(だろうとおもう // I think [probably/perhaps]

だろうと思う is an N4 grammar point that combines the だろう of conjecture (which we saw in [NDL #490] - JLPT N5: でしょう・だろう [probably]) and と思う (which we saw in [NDL #615] - Basics: Saying "I think that...").

An example:

島田さんが来るのは10時ぐらいだろうと思います
しまだ さん が くる の は じゅうじ ぐらい だろうとおもいます。
I think Shimada-san will (probably) come around ten o’clock.
Literally: “Shimada-san + が + come + の + は + ten o’clock + around / approximately + だろう + と + think.”


だろうと思う makes it sound like the speaker is more sure than if she had said only だろう.

Conversely, it sounds less sure than if she had just said と思う.

In other words, if you look below, the speaker in sentence   sounds more certain than the speaker in sentence  2 , who in turn sounds more certain the speaker in sentence  :

 
島田さんが来るのは10時ぐらいだと思います
しまだ さん が くる の は じゅうじ ぐらい だとおもいます。
I think Shimada-san will (probably) come around ten o’clock.
Literally: “Shimada-san + が + come + の + は + ten o’clock + around / approximately + だ + と + think.”


 2 
島田さんが来るのは10時ぐらいだろうと思います
しまだ さん が くる の は じゅうじ ぐらい だろうとおもいます。
I think Shimada-san will (probably) come around ten o’clock.
Literally: “Shimada-san + が + come + の + は + ten o’clock + around / approximately + だろう + と + think.”

 
島田さんが来るのは10時ぐらいだろう
しまだ さん が くる の は じゅうじ ぐらい だろう。
I think Shimada-san will (probably) come around ten o’clock.
Literally: “Shimada-san + が + come + の + は + ten o’clock + around / approximately + だろう.”
Note: The nuance with this sentence is that the speaker is thinking this or talking to herself.


 



👷 Construction 👷

Simple:

Plain Form Wordだろうと思う

↑ No need to add だ or anything after nouns or na-adjectives, by the way. Just the word, then だろうと思う.

I should also mention that the phrase before だろうと思う will not describe the speaker's intentional action. That wouldn't make sense because this is the だろう of conjecture, and we don't make conjectures (i.e. guesses) about what we intentionally do.

 

🏙 Example City 🏙

あのレストランはいつも混んでいるので、きっとおいしいだろうと思います
あの レストラン は いつも こんでいる ので、 きっと おいしい だろうとおもいます。
That restaurant is always crowded, so I think it must be good.
Literally: “that + restaurant + は + always + is being crowded + ので (=because), + surely / most likely + tasty /delicious + だろう + と + think.”


あの二人は、たぶんすぐ別れるだろうと思う
あの ふたり は、 たぶん すぐ わかれる だろうとおもう。
I think those two will probably break up before long.
Literally: “that + two people + は, + probably + soon / before long + break up / separate + だろう + と + think.”


彼はきっと早死にするだろうと思う
かれ は きっと はやじに する だろうとおもう。
I think that he’ll most likely die young.
Literally: “he + は + surely / most likely + dying early / dying young + do + だろう + と + think.”


彼女はその言葉の意味がわからなかっただろうと思う
かのじょ は その ことば の いみ が わからなかった だろうとおもう。
I think that she (probably) didn’t understand what that word meant.
Literally: “she + は + that + word + の + meaning + が + didn’t understand + だろう + と + think.”

 



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