Giving Opinions
| I think, I feel, I reckon (informal) I guess (American) In my view, in my opinion, to my mind, for me (formal) If you ask me,….. Apparently, so to speak, more or less, sort of (informal) Kind of (informal) Well, really, that is to say, at least, I am afraid, I suppose, or rather, actually, I mean |
| Giving a strong opinion “I am absolutely convinced that…….” “I am sure that…….” “I strongly believe that…….” “I have no doubt that………” “To my way of thinking,…….” |
Focusing and Linking
| With reference to Talking / speaking of / about Regarding As regards As far as………is concerned As for…………. |
Agreeing and Disagreeing
| Agreeing | Half-agreeing | Disagreeing |
| I agree That’s exactly what I think That’s a good point That’s right Absolutely! Yeah, I know | I take your point, but…. I see what you mean, but…. I agree up to a point, but…. I agree to some extent, but… | I disagree I don’t agree at all Sorry, but that’s not my opinion I don’t feel the same way I wouldn’t say that I don’t think so No way! Oh, come on! |
Checking understanding of the question
| Do you mean…? Sorry, I didn’t catch the last word of the question. Sorry, but I'm not quite clear on . Let me just make sure - your point is that . Should I talk about Japan, or the country that I come from? |
Pausing for thought
| Let me think. Let me see. That’s a difficult question. I’ve never really thought about that before. |
Sounding unsure
| I don’t remember very well, but… The first thing that comes to mind is… I don’t know a lot about this, but I guess… I’m no expert on this, but I would imagine… |
Comparing Photos
Classifying / categorising
| There are | two | types kinds classes categories sorts varieties | of X | : Y and Z. . These are Y and Z. |
| The | are Y and Z. |
| X | consists of comprises can be divided into | two | categories classes kinds types varieties | . These are Y and Z. : Y and Z. |
| Y and Z are | classes kinds types categories varieties | of X. |
| We can classify X | according to on the basis of depending on | W. |
Comparing
| X is like Y X and Y are similar X is similar to Y X is the same as Y X resembles Y | with respect to W. as regards W. as far as W is concerned. regarding W. in that W is the same. in terms of W. in W. |
| Both X and Y cost W. X is as expensive as W. X costs the same as Y. X is the same price as Y. |
| X has a Y. | Similarly, it has a W. Likewise, it has a W. Correspondingly, it has a W. It has a W, too. It also has a W. |
Contrasting
| X differs from Y X is unlike Y X and Y differ X is different from Y X contrasts with Y | with respect to W. as regards W. as far as W is concerned. regarding W. in terms of W. in W. |
| X costs 1,174, whereas Y costs W. X costs 1,174, while Y costs W. X costs 1,174, but Y costs W. X costs 1,174, in contrast to Y, which costs W. X is more expensive than Y. X is not as expensive as Y. X costs more than Y. |
| X is expensive to buy. | On the other hand, it is W. In contrast, it is W. Conversely, it is W. However, it is W. |
| Although X is expensive to buy, Despite the high price of X, | it is W. |
Defining
| X is .... X is called .... X is known as .... X may be defined as .... X is a type of Y that/which .... A type of Y which ... is X. We call ... .... We define ... .... |
Emphasising a point
| I want to stress .... I want to highlight .... I'd like to emphasise .... I'd like to put emphasis on .... It's important to remember that .... We should bear in mind that .... Don't forget that .... The crucial point is .... The essential point is .... The fundamental point is .... Furthermore, .... What's more, .... This supports my argument that, .... It follows, therefore, that .... What (in effect) we are saying is .... |
Referring to research
| If you agree with what the writer says. | If you disagree with what the writer says. | If you do not want to give your opinion about what the writer says. |
| The work of X indicates that ... The work of X reveals that ... The work of X shows that ... Turning to X, one finds that ... Reference to X reveals that ... In a study of Y, X found that... As X points out, ... As X has indicated ... A study by X shows that ... X has drawn attention to the fact that ... X argues that ... X points out that ... X makes clear that ... | X claims that ... The work of X asserts that ... X feels that ... | According to X... It is the view of X that ... The opinion of X is that ... In an article by X, ... Research by X suggests that ... X has expressed a similar view. X reports that ... X notes that ... X states that ... X observes that ... X concludes that ... X argues that ... X found that ... X discovered that ... |
Rephrasing
| In other words, Or rather, That is to say, Basically To put it another way, If we put that another way, I mean By which I mean Or you could say The point I'm making is That is to say, That is, Namely, i.e. That means | ||
| What I | 'm suggesting 'm trying to say meant to say should have said | İs |
| Let me put it another way | ||
Expressing reasons and explanations:
Emphasising cause
| The death rate from cancer is increasing | because owing to the fact that | people are smoking more. |
| The fact that | the death rate from cancer is increasing | is due to may be due to | people smoking more. |
| The One | reason for cause of | the death rate from cancer increasing | is that could be that | people are smoking more. |
| An increase in the death rate from cancer | is may be | one effect of one result of one consequence of caused by due to because of | people smoking more. |
| results from arises from | |||
Emphasising effect
| As Because Since | people are smoking more, | the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
| People are smoking more. | Therefore, So, Thus, Hence, Consequently, Because of this, For this reason, As a consequence, As a result, | the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
| People are smoking more, | as a result of which as a consequence of which with the result that |
| Owing to | people smoking more, | the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
| One The | effect of result of consequence of | people smoking more | is that | the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
| is to | increase the death rate from cancer. |
| People smoking more | results in leads to produces causes is the cause of gives rise to brings about | an increase in the death rate from cancer. |
