EXPRESSIONS TO GIVE OPINIONS

General opinion.

•I think/ believe/feel that… •It seems to me (that)… •In my opinion/ view, … •As I see it, …

Advantages and disadvantages

•On the one hand…./On the other hand…. •A(n) (dis)advantage of… is… •One major/minor benefit of … is… •One big/ small drawback to … is… •The best/worst part is… •There are (a lot of) (dis) advantages. •It has (several ) disadvantages. •Another (dis)advantage is…

Suggestion • One option/idea would be to… Another option/idea would be to… •I think (you) should(n’t)… •(You)’d better… •Don’t… •Why don’t (you)…? •How about… ing…? •It’s a good idea to… •(You) could/ must

EXPRESSIONS TO GIVE OPINIONS

Possibility and uncertainty

• I think.. might… •I’m not sure about/ if… •It’s possible that… •Perhaps… could..

Speculations It’s difficult to say… I think… will If + (present)…, …will… Hopefully, ….. It looks as if… It seems that…

Examples • For example,…. •For instance, … •To give you an example… •As an illustration,….

Desires • I wish …(past tense)… •I hope that… will •I hope/want to…

EXPRESSIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS

Giving your opinion

•I think/ believe/feel that… •It seems to me (that)… •In my opinion/ view, … •As I see it, …

Asking for other people’s opinions

•What do you think about/of…? •What’s your opinion of/ about…? •What are your views on…? •What are your feelings about…? /How do you feel about…?

Strongly agreeing/ disagreeing

Exactly. × Absolutely not! That’s true. × No way! I wouldn’t say it better . × I strongly disagree… You’re perfectly right . × I think you’re wrong. I couldn’t agree more. × I simply can’t agree to this. That’s just what I was thinking. × I think the opposite. I’m of the same opinion. × I have a different opinion about it.

Mildly agreeing/ disagreeing

•Well, I don’t think so •In my opinion I consider that… •Sorry to… but… •I don’t entirely… with you. •That’s not really how I see it. •I’m not totally convinced by your argument. •With certain reservations, I would support your opinion/argument.

EXPRESSIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS

Asking to clarify or repeat something

•I’m sorry? •Could you repeat/explain that, please? •Pardon? •Would you mind repeating that? •I’m afraid I didn’t get it. •What do you mean by…?

Giving yourself time to think

•Let me see. •Can I think about that for a moment? •How can I put this/ best explain? •Um… Well… •What’s the best way of putting it?

Saying something in another way

•What I mean is… •What I’m trying to say is… •To put it in another way…

Conceiding

•If you say so… •I’m persuaded by your arguments/points •I haven’t thought about it. •Well, that might be correct/ the option…

EXPRESSIONS FOR DISCUSSIONS

Referring back As we are saying earlier To go back to what I was just saying To go back to what X was saying earlier We appear to be strain from the point/ our purpose/mandate I do not wish to labout the point, but … As I said/mentioned earlier/before If I may just return/go back/revert briefly to what I was saying ….

Interrupting •Can I come in here? •I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you, but … •Forgive me for interrupting, but … •I don’t want to interrupt, but … •If I might just say a word about … •Could I come in at this point? •If I can just stop you for a moment •Before you go any further, may I point out/indicate/explain

Reaching a conclusion

•So, weighing up the pros and cons we could say/conclude that… •To conclude/ sum up, •If you will agree to… I’ll agree to… •That works for me.