I want to learn thinking in English language to be able to speak it naturally just like a native speaker does. But since it is not my native language, I mostly think in my native language. To improve my thinking in English, I listen to native speakers chatting and when I hear a something good(natural, pure english) I always ask myself "how would I said it, if I were him/her" or "if I were her, would I have made the sentence like hers?"
So, today I listened two women talking on TV. Two women were talking now about their chat last year. Last year woman A said to the woman B "I want to freeze my eggs".
So, woman B now asks woman A about that subject reminding what she said last year and asks her question like this: "Is it something that you still think about?"
The question "Is it something that you still think about" sounded to me a more natural english than the one I would have asked if I were her. If I were her, my question would be "Do you still think about it?"
I just cant think of forming that question the same way the woman B did, because I cant think like she does, as I am not a native speaker. I believe it is because we tend to think in our native language. And my native language causes me to ask the question that way, which sounds less natural english than that of a native speaker.
So, firstly I wonder is there any difference between the two sentences?
Secondly, do you think my thinking in English which produced ("Do you still think about it?") sounds less natural than her thinking in English which produced (Is it something that you still think about)?
Regards,
Best Answer
The objective meaning is the same, but there is a slight difference in the interaction.
suggests that "thinking about it" as something special, and might be taken as a criticism. If A is feeling insecure, she might conclude that B thinks it is weird to think about freezing her eggs, or that B thinks that A is obsessed with it.
defuses this a little, because it suggests that freezing her eggs is just one of the things she thinks about; so A is less likely to take it as critical.
The difference is, as I say, very subtle; and depending on A's state of mind, she might not take the first as critical, or she might take both of them that way. But in my view, B is saying the second to reduce the possibility that A takes it as an attack. (The choice might not even be conscious)