Think better of him VERSUS think the better of him

[Tamara]

Hi

Could you word the difference between use of think better of (it/him...) and think the better of him?
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Pond969]

Hi Tamara .... You can use both expressions interchangeably in many situations, but not in others.

You could say "I think better of him than I did before" (meaning that your opinion of him has improved), but it would not be good English to say "I think *the* better of him" in the same context.

On the other hand, you could say "I would think better of him if he brushed his hair more often" OR "I would think *the* better of him if he brushed his hair more often" and mean the same thing.

[Tamara]

Hi

In Russian the expression 'to think better of' is used in similar way.

[Yankee]

Hi Tamara

'Think better of (doing)' means to change your opinion, change your mind or reconsider (doing something).

Your last example ("I thought better of you!") indicates that you expected something better. I would expect the meaning to be that you are disapponted/now think less of the other person unless there is something else in the context that tells me otherwise:

I thought better of him on Wednesday than on Tuesday. (improvement on Wednesday)
I didn't think any better of him on Wednesday than on Tuesday. (no change in opinion at all, and the opinion is probably negative)

I'd say 'think better of doing something' is rarely used in a grammatically negative sentence.

We had planned to spend the day hiking, but thought better of it after hearing the weather forecast. 'thought better of it' = decided against doing it (changed our minds)

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, and native speaker of American English

[Tamara]

Thanks, Amy, for your brilliant explanation.

I only wanted to say that to me to think the better of him doesn't have a bit of 'changing mind' and sounds just as an equivalent for 'I have a VERY good opinion of him', 'I can think about him only all the better'. Or something like that.

OK. Just won't use 'the better' in the expression.
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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Conchita]

You can use another expression that means you have a better opinion of someone (for doing something):

To think all the better of someone: we think all the better of him for it.