Virtuous English AcademyThinking & Ideas — B1 English Vocabulary
This B1 vocabulary list gathers 40 intermediate English words about thinking & ideas — deciding, imagining and understanding. Every word comes with a simple definition, its British-English pronunciation and a natural example sentence, so you learn each one in real context. When you are ready, open the flashcards to practise and remember them for good.
- #B1
- #Academic
- #Flashcards
- #Definitions
- #Examples
- #Pronunciation
Using thinking & ideas words in English
Two verbs on this list change their meaning depending on what follows them, and it is one of the most elegant pieces of English grammar worth learning at B1. Remember to do and remember doing describe two different situations, and the same split applies to forget. The page also fixes the prepositions after think, and one collocation that translation gets wrong in almost every language: you make a decision, you do not take one.
What to watch out for
Remember to do looks forward; remember doing looks back
I remembered to lock the door means the locking happened because you remembered. I remember locking the door means you have a memory of having done it. Forget works in the same two ways: I forgot to call her means no call happened, while I will never forget meeting her is about the memory. This pair appears in exams constantly.
Think of, think about, think that
Think about means to consider carefully: I am thinking about changing jobs. Think of means to bring to mind or to invent: I cannot think of his name, Who thought of this idea? Think that introduces an opinion: I think that she is right. And a useful idiom: What do you think of it? asks for an opinion, while What are you thinking about? asks what is in your head.
You make a decision and you have an idea
English says make a decision, never take a decision in ordinary usage — though take a decision does appear in formal British writing. You have an idea, you come up with a plan, you make a choice and you reach a conclusion. These collocations carry no logic and simply have to be collected. Note British spellings here: realise and recognise with s.
Words learners mix up
Three tables: four verbs for what you think will happen and how confident each one is, four verbs for the moment something becomes clear, and the nouns for whatever is currently in your head.
Looking forward: four verbs, four levels of confidence
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| expect | To think something will happen. Takes to plus a verb, or a person then to: I expect her to call. | We expect the results on Friday. |
| predict | To say in advance, usually with a reason behind it. Takes a that clause or a direct object. | Nobody predicted such a close finish. |
| estimate | To give an approximate figure. Often passive: the cost is estimated at. | They estimate the repair at two thousand pounds. |
| intend | About your own plans, not about the future in general. Takes to plus a verb. | I intend to finish it this week. |
Expect and wait for are the pair most often confused, because several languages use one word for both: expecting is a belief about the future and waiting is what you physically do. So I am waiting for the bus describes standing at the stop, while I expect the bus at six describes what you think will happen.
The moment it becomes clear: four verbs
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| realise | To become aware of something you had not noticed. Takes a that clause, and it is usually a sudden event. | I realised that I had left my keys inside. |
| recognise | To know somebody or something because you have met it before. Takes a direct object. | I did not recognise her at first. |
| recall | The formal counterpart of remember. It takes an -ing form or a that clause. | I do not recall saying that. |
| comprehend | Formal, and mostly used in the negative: I cannot comprehend it. Everyday English says understand. | It is hard to comprehend the scale of it. |
Realise and recognise are close enough in several languages to be swapped constantly, and the difference is where the knowledge comes from: recognising uses your memory of the thing itself, while realising is working out something that was true all along. Both take British -ise spellings, and both have nouns ending -isation that are far rarer than the verbs.
What is in your head: four nouns
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| thought | Countable for one idea and uncountable for the activity: deep in thought. | A thought struck me on the way home. |
| notion | Countable, and slightly dismissive in modern use — a notion is an idea nobody has tested. | He has some strange notions about money. |
| belief | Countable for one thing you believe and uncountable for faith in general: belief in something. | It goes against my beliefs. |
| perception | Countable for how something is seen, and it takes of: public perception of the police. | Their perception of the risk was wrong. |
Perception is the useful one in essays because it names the gap between how things are and how they look, which is exactly what a discussion question usually turns on. Notion carries a faint edge — describing somebody’s notion of fairness quietly suggests it is not a serious one — so it is not a neutral synonym for idea.
Collocations that sound natural
Six words that live inside frames rather than alone. Three of them appear in idioms so common that a British conversation is hard to follow without them.
mind
change your mindbear in mindmake up your mindit slipped my mind
The verb is change, never modify, and make up your mind means to finish deciding. Bear in mind is the standard polite way of introducing something the other person may have forgotten, and it takes a that clause.
choice
have no choicemake a choicea wide choiceby choice
You make a choice and take a decision only in formal British English. By choice means willingly, and have no choice but to is a fixed frame with an infinitive that appears constantly in writing about difficult situations.
plan
make plansaccording to plana plan to expandgo to plan
The verb is make, and the plural is normal when the plans are not yet fixed. According to plan and go to plan both drop the article, which is what makes them idioms rather than ordinary phrases.
awareness
raise awarenessawareness of the riskspublic awarenessa growing awareness
Uncountable, so it takes no article and no plural. The verb is raise, which is the same verb used for money, and the thing you are aware of always follows of. The adjective aware takes the same preposition.
curiosity
out of curiositycuriosity aboutsatisfy your curiosityidle curiosity
Uncountable, and out of curiosity is the standard polite opener before a question that is none of your business. The adjective curious also means strange when it describes a thing rather than a person.
guess
have a guessan educated guessat a guessI guess so
Countable as a noun, and British English says have a guess where American English says take a guess. An educated guess means one based on some knowledge, and I guess as a filler in speech is distinctly American.
Where each word belongs
Seven words carrying a level of formality or a second sense that catches learners. This topic is full of words that are perfectly ordinary in one register and slightly odd in another.
- supposeSpeech · and one very useful passiveIn conversation I suppose so is reluctant agreement, and suppose we leave early makes a suggestion. Far more important is be supposed to, meaning something is expected or arranged: you are supposed to book first. That structure is essential and appears constantly.
- wonderTwo senses · and a question wordAs a thinking verb it must be followed by a question word or if: I wonder what happened, I wonder if you could help, the second being a very polite request. As a noun it means something amazing, and the adjective wonderful belongs to that sense only.
- rationalFormal · and it is not the same as logicalRational describes a person or decision guided by reason rather than emotion. Logical describes an argument whose steps follow correctly. So a decision can be logical and still not rational if the starting point was absurd, which is a distinction worth having in an essay.
- intelligenceUncountable · and a second worldUncountable as a mental quality, so never intelligences. Its other sense is secret information gathered by a government, which is why the intelligence services have nothing to do with being clever. Artificial intelligence borrows the first sense.
- evaluateWriting · and an instruction wordTo judge the value or quality of something after examining it, and it appears in exam questions alongside assess and compare. It is more formal than judge and more systematic than think about. The noun is evaluation.
- brainstormInformal · and a British reversalIn workplace English it means generating ideas quickly in a group, and it is now a normal verb and noun. In older British usage a brainstorm meant a sudden moment of confusion — the opposite — which still surfaces in I had a brainstorm and forgot her name.
- certainTwo senses · one of them deliberately vagueAfter be it means sure: I am certain about it. In front of a noun it means some particular ones you are not naming: certain people have complained. The second use is deliberately vague and very common in careful writing.
Sentences to try
Four frames covering the two structures and the collocations. Change one to the other form and notice the meaning shift.
- Please remember to bring your notes tomorrow.
- I clearly remember meeting her at the conference.
- They finally made a decision about the new office.
- I did not recognise him until he spoke.
Questions about thinking & ideas vocabulary
What is the difference between "remember to do" and "remember doing"?
They describe opposite time relationships. Remember to do means the memory comes first and then the action: I remembered to post the letter — the letter was posted. Remember doing means the action came first and you are recalling it now: I remember posting the letter — you have a picture of doing it. Forget mirrors this exactly: I forgot to lock it means it is unlocked, while I will never forget locking it is about the memory. Stop, try and regret change meaning the same way.
Is it "make a decision" or "take a decision"?
Make a decision is the standard collocation in both British and American English: We need to make a decision by Friday. Take a decision does exist in formal British usage, especially in political and institutional writing, so it is not an error — but it sounds noticeably formal in everyday speech. The related collocations follow the same unpredictable pattern and are best memorised: make a choice, make a mistake, have an idea, reach a conclusion, come to an agreement.
Should I write "realise" or "realize"?
Both are acceptable in British English, but realise with an s is by far the more common British spelling and is what most British publishers and schools use. American English always writes realize. The same choice applies to recognise, organise, memorise and apologise. Whichever you choose, be consistent across a whole piece of writing. Note that a few verbs take -ise in every variety and can never be spelled with z, including advise, surprise, exercise and supervise.