student asking question

I don't understand the usage of "I think" in a grammar standpoint that's in the middle of this sentence. Because "will appear" comes after this, it doesn't look right to me. Or is it only okay when speaking?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

So, here, "I think" is in the beginning part of the relative clause started by the relative pronoun "that" to explain what type of film it is. So because of that, "I think" essentially acts as a subject and verb of the clause. And that's why commas aren't necessary and why it appears to be in the middle of a sentence. If it came anytime afterwards, commas would be needed to act as parentheses! Either way, it could be read as additional information highlighting her opinion. But you're right. It's still suited to speaking rather than formal or academic writing. Ex: This is a song that you'll really, I think, like listening to. Ex: This is a song that I think you'll really like listening to.

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