In this post, let’s clarify two prepositional phrases:
- in my mind
- on my mind
Truth be told, you’re not really going to use “in my mind” all that much. If you hear it, it just means “in my opinion”. So why not use in my opinion? Exactly!
“On my mind” will be way more useful for you because it’s more conversation-pertinent. You can ask someone who looks worried, “What’s on your mind?”
And if someone asks you, “Hey, what are you thinking?” You can respond with, “X is on my mind”.
Just be careful not to double dip– that’s the quickest way to stalling your speech fluency. Here’s a basic example:
- “What’s your favorite movie of all time?”
- My favorite movie of all time is…
Using too close of the same wording makes you sound like a robot. So in a similar way, avoid using “on my mind” like this:
- “What’s on your mind?”
- X has been on my mind.
Again, choose one or the other. Don’t use them back to back.
If you’re interested in learning more conversational English like this, connect with Jon to sign up for online private English coaching or face-to-face sessions in Boston. We’ll work on making you sound like a native speaker.
The Conversation Coach 