I’m having trouble distinguishing when to use pensou vs. achou (or any of the past forms really) is there a trick, or just something that needs to be memorized?
How i think about these words are:
Achar - express an opinion or believe something/ a loose term of thinking
Pensar - more ‘academic’/ actively thinking/ “on my mind”
Hopefully these examples will help.
PENSAR
Penso em ti (ie you are on my mind /thinking of you)
Estou a pensar no trabalho (ie my mind is on work)
ACHAR
Acho que ele é bonito
Eu acho que aquela bola é azul
(i think that…add opinion)
Hope that makes sense
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Okay, that really does help. Thank you. (I’m sure I’ll still get it wrong at least 25%, but that’s an improvement!)
@paula2, this other topic on the subject might help 
: Achar vs Pensar
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