Expressions used to state impressions

In my opinion, ...
In my eyes, ...
To my mind, ...
As far as I am concerned, ...
Speaking personally, ...
From my point of view, ...
As for me / As to me, ...
My view / opinion / belief / impression / conviction is that ...
I hold the view that ...
I would say that ...
It seems to me that ...
I am of the opinion that ...
My impression is that ...
I am under the impression that ...
It is my impression that ...
I have the feeling that ...
My own feeling on the subject is that ...
I have no doubt that ...
I am sure / I am certain that ...
I think / consider / find / feel / believe / suppose / presume / assume that ...
I hold the opinion that ...
I form / adopt an opinion
I dare say that ...
I guess that ...
I bet that ....
I gather that ...
It goes without saying that ...

All of these reporting verbs are a variation on the verb to think. They all
refer to people's thoughts, rather than to what they say. They can be
used to refer to different types of thoughts, beliefs and feelings. The
verbs that Toko lists can all be used freely with negative forms as well as
affirmative.Wonder is used mainly in affirmative sentences, occasionally
with interrogative forms. All of these verbs soften what would otherwise
be a harsher statement or question. I will try to give some examples of
usage below.

think
You have an impression or an opinion about something:

Shall we go swimming
tomorrow?

I thought we might go
swimming tomorrow.

Peter's not at home.

I don't think Peter's at home.
The sun moves round the
earth.

In ancient times
peoplethought that the sun

moved round the earth.

guess
You have an idea or opinion about something, but you're not
absolutely sure whether it's correct or not. I guess. is used
very frequently in American English, but is quite common in
British English too.
He's not coming.

I guess he won't be coming

now.

Do you think he'll make a full

recovery?

Yeah, I guess so. / No, I

guess not.

It's just bruised, not broken.

I guess it's just bruised, not
broken.

suppose
You have an idea about something, but it is rather
tentative.Suppose is more characteristic of British English,
rather than American English and is often used with the
negative:
Have you got a match?
I don't suppose you've got a
match, have you?
Would you be prepared to
stay on for another week?

I don't suppose you'd be

prepared to stay on for another
week?

Is it too late for an appointment

today?
I suppose it's too late for an
appointment today?

imagine
If you imagine something, you reflect on it and your mind forms
a picture or an idea of it:

They won't stay together for

more than a few months.

I can't imagine them staying

together for more than a few
months.

He'll leave the house to her

and find a flat for himself.

I imagine he'll leave the house

to her and find a flat for
himself.

feel
Feel is very often used to talk about reactions and opinions. If
you feel that something is the case, you are saying that you
have a strong idea about it in your mind, though it may be based
on intuition rather than evidence:
We're not doing anything
wrong.

They didn't feel (that) they

were doing anything wrong.

She was making a big mistake

in agreeing to live with him

I felt she was making a big

mistake in agreeing to live with
him.

The car won't start.

He felt sure the car wouldn't

start.

Note that in the above examples, we could also introduce the

clause following the reporting verb with the conjunction that:

'In ancient times people thought that the sun moved

round the earth.'

'I guess that he'll make a full recovery.'

'I don't imagine that they'll stay together for very long.'

'He felt sure that the car wouldn't start.'

However, more often than not with verbs of this nature, that is
omitted, particularly in informal speech.

wonder
If you wonder about something, you think about it with
curiosity and wish you knew more about it. Literally, it means: I
ask myself. And because it reports yes/no questions, it
introducesif/whether rather than that-clauses.
Did he really intend to say
that?

I just wonder if he really

intended to say that.

Should I sit down? I wasn't

sure.

I wondered whether I should

sit down.

What would it be like to live

in New York?

Have you ever wonderedwhat

it would be like to live in New

York?
Who's that girl in the red
dress?

I was wondering who the girl

in the red dress was.

Here are a few more examples of verbs which are frequently

used to report thoughts, opinions or intentions with illustrations
of usage below. If you are not sure of their meaning, check them
out in a good dictionary:
assume

believe

doubt

hope

mean

reckon

'I assumed you would be coming to Tina's party. I didn't

know you were on holiday.'

'I believed he would come home. It didn't occur to me

that he would stay in Australia.'

'I doubt whether I shall be able to attend the meeting.'

'I hope I shall see you at the graduation ceremony.'

'I meant to return the music score last week. I'm sorry I
forgot.'

'I reckon she'll lose in the semi-final. I can't see her

getting through to the final.'