He sat thinking for some time vs He sat thinking

Both phrases are correct, but they convey slightly different meanings. 'He sat thinking for some time' implies that he spent a considerable amount of time thinking, while 'he sat thinking' simply states that he was engaged in thinking without specifying the duration. The choice between the two depends on whether you want to emphasize the duration of the thinking process.

Last updated: March 12, 2024 • 1137 views

He sat thinking for some time

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate that someone spent a considerable amount of time engaged in thinking.

This phrase is used to emphasize the duration of the thinking process. It implies that the person spent a significant period engaged in thought.

Examples:

He sat thinking for some time before coming to a decision.
She sat thinking for some time about what to say next.

Alternatives:

He sat thinking deeply for a while.
He sat pondering for some time.
He sat lost in thought for a while.

He sat thinking

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate that someone was engaged in thinking.

This phrase simply states that the person was thinking without specifying the duration. It is a more general statement about the person's mental activity.

Examples:

He sat thinking about the problem.
She sat thinking about her future.

Show examples from the web [+]

Nov 7, 2012 ... ... in the razor-sharp contest, he sat thinking. His eyes were closed, his chin resting on his clasped hands and his legs stretched out before him.
Nov 7, 2012 ... ... two more battleground states on Tuesday, betting that one last visit might push him over the edge in the razor-sharp contest, he sat thinking.
Next day, he sat thinking of what he had undergone ; " all at once I thought I felt well- known sensations, a cramping of the breast, and a tingling of the soles of ...
His eyes sparkled merrily and he smiled as he sat thinking. 'Yes, it was very nice. There were many other delightful things which I can't just get hold of — can't ...

Alternatives:

He was lost in thought.
He pondered quietly.
He contemplated.

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

He sat thinking for some time vs He sat thinking