A closer look at そう思う


I just realized today that for some reason I'm pretty uncomfortable with
things like そう思う because the Japanese そう has a meaning akin to saying isn't
that _so_ in English. But when you say そう思う, そう is being treated as what's
being thought, right? So is it more appropriate to say そうと思う？Because it is the
subject in this case, right?




The そう is 副詞/an adverb (meaning #1 in
[そう【然う】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/127918/m0u/%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86/))
and the subject for the verb 思う can be 私, あなた etc. (can be omitted), depending
on the context. Like, わたしは*そう*(≒そのように/そんなふうに)思います。I think so / that way.

