Peter,
   Great questions. I think "must" in "I think too much" is an adverbial 
of extent. "Too" tends to qualify "much" by putting it over the top. 
Same with "too tall", "too lazy", "too quietly" and so on.
   In "I think about many things," it's mostly a question of whether 
"think about" is a phrasal verb. It tends to feel that way for me, maybe 
because we use the two together so often. "What do you think about?" "I 
think about many things." But I wouldn't argue with anyone who feels 
it's an intransitive "think" followed by a prepositional phrase.
   Because I'm reading about construction grammar, I'm beginning to see 
how often grammatical constructions are more "local" than abstract. If 
/think /and /about/ or /too /and /much/ go together often enough, they 
begin to feel like a single construction. "Think about" gives us a way 
to express the content of our thoughts. "Too much" helps us say when 
things have gone too far. So we use them over and over.
   I suspect you found that most direct objects for "think" are whole 
clauses, not just noun phrases. "Evil thoughts" would be an exception. 
The content of a mental process is generally a process in its own right. 
"I think you are a wonderful teacher." They seem to resist being passive.

Craig


Peter Adams wrote:
> I asked my students to try to come up with sentences in which "think" 
> is used as a transitive verb.  Did they ever.
>
> After "I think evil thoughts" and "I think it will rain," both of 
> which seem to qualify, they came up with several that are puzzling me:
>
> I think too much.
>
> Martha Kolln says "much" can be an indefinite pronoun, so perhaps it 
> is a direct object, but what about "too"?  Can a qualifier like "too" 
> modify an indefinite pronoun?  Martha says qualifiers (some call 'em 
> intensifiers) can modify adjectives and adverbs.  So is "much" an 
> adverb?  Of manner?  Help?
>
> And what about this one:
>
> I think about many things.
>
> Martha suggests a prepositional phrase can function as a subject 
> complement, as in "the fighter seems out of shape," but can it also 
> function as a direct object?
>
> Aren't students wonderful?  I told them I would post these to the list 
> and report back with your responses.
>
> Peter Adams
>
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