Let's look at some different ways people say, "I don't think so." In English we have "so" at the end, and we might wonder how to translate it. In some cases, we can add a pronoun, but often, it's left out entirely. As you will see, different verbs work a bit differently from one another, so we need to keep them straight. Of course, it's perfectly OK for you, as you learn, to say it the same way every time, but someone might use one form or another, so you'll want to be prepared to understand them. There's more than one way to skin a cat! 

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We're talking about responding (in the negative) to questions such as:

*Hai il mio numero di telefono (do you have my phone number)?

Non mi pare (I don't think so).

Non mi sembra (it doesn't seem so to me).

Non credo (I don't believe so).

Non penso (I don't think so).

*Quella donna è sua moglie (is that woman his wife)?

Non mi pare (I don't think so).

Non mi sembra (I don't think so, it doesn't seem so to me).

Non credo (I don't think so, I don't believe so).

Non penso proprio (I really don't think so).

Let's look at these verb choices one by one.

Parere

You might remember a lesson where we talked briefly about the verb parere. In addition, let's remember that il parere is also a noun, meaning "the opinion."

So if you want to answer a question in the negative, you can say, Non mi pare (I don't think so).

Non lo so, cambiamenti nell'atteggiamento, nell'umore, nel modo di vestirsi, cose così. -No... no, non mi pare.

I don't know, changes in her behavior, in her mood, in the way she dressed, stuff like that. -No... no, I don't think so.

Captions 15-16, Il Commissario Manara S2EP3 - Delitto tra le lenzuola - Part 5

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Sembrare 

Sembrare (to seem) is a bit tricky because, like parere, it's often used with an indirect object or personal pronoun. In everyday conversation, we often find the construction mi sembra che... or non mi sembra che...  (it seems to me that... it doesn't seem to me that...). Or we just find non mi sembra. Here we have to keep in mind that sembra (the third person singular of sembrare) includes the subject pronoun "it" or possibly "he/she." Translating it literally is just a bit awkward. In English, we tend to simplify.

Ma non ti sembra un po' affrettato? -Affrettato?

But doesn't it seem a bit rushed to you? -Rushed?

Captions 10-11, Stai lontana da me Rai Cinema - Part 17

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We couldn't find an example in Yabla videos with the simple answer non mi sembra, but we can answer the question "Rushed?" in the previous example with it: Affrettato? Non mi sembra  (rushed? I don't think so). We can dress up the answer with proprio or, since it is in the negative, with affatto ([not] at all) Non mi sembra affatto (I really don't think so, I don't think so at all).

So with parere and sembrare, we often use the indirect personal pronoun (to me, to him, to them, to you) but with our next words, credere (to believe) and pensare (to think) we don't. They are just "normal" verbs.

Credere

Another word that is used a lot in this context is the verb credere  (to believe). It goes together nicely with proprio (really). Proprio means lots of things, so see our lesson  about it for more information. In English, we often use "think" instead of "believe" out of habit. In many cases, "believe" would be fine, too.

Forse un imprenditore americano non le parlerebbe così. -No, non credo proprio.

Maybe an American industrialist wouldn't talk about it like that. -No, I really don't think so.

Captions 40-41, Adriano Olivetti La forza di un sogno Ep.2 - Part 13

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Pensare

We have seen this verb many times before, but we include it here, because it might be the easiest to remember, corresponding to the English verb "to think."

Cos'è, bigiotteria? Non penso. Rubini e filigrana d'oro.

What is it? Costume jewelry? I don't think so. Rubies and gold filigree.

Captions 70-71, Il Commissario Manara S2EP12 - La donna senza volto - Part 4

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We've provided some quick and easy negative answers to questions asking our opinion or judgment about something. When we use any of these verbs in longer sentences, we might need the subjunctive if the verbs are followed by the conjunction che  (that, which).  There are other ways to use these verbs without the subjunctive and we will explore these in a future lesson.

Practice:

Try asking yourself some questions and experiment with the different verbs. Here's a start:

Pioverà (is it going to rain)?

Arriveremo in tempo (will we get there in time)?

Hai abbastanza soldi per pagarlo (do you have enough money to pay for this)?

La pasta è cotta (is the pasta cooked)?

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