PHRASES
Introductory phrases
· I would like to discuss…
· I would like to talk to you about….
· I want to give you a short talk on…
· I want to share my experience about
Phrases for expressing opinions
· For me…
· As I see it…
· Personally…
· In my view…
· As far as I’m concerned
· Talking about myself…
· In my experience……
Phrases to help transition from introduction to main idea
· To begin with….
· One of the most interesting things about….
· First of all….
· Firstly
· It is the most important thing in my life because…
· The reason why I like it so much is because…
Phrases to expand or develop idea
· One of the main disadvantages/advantages or causes…
· For instance/For example…..
· One of the consequences/results….
· This appeals to me because…
· Another reason why I like/don’t prefer …..
· Moreover,
Phrases for conclusion
· To wrap up,….
· To conclude,….
· In conclusion,…
· To sum up,….
· Overall
· In a nutshell
· So all in all…
SOME OTHER PHRASES
If you are saying something in another way
· What I’m trying to say is…
· In other words…
· To put it another way…
· What I mean is…
· Perhaps I should make that clearer by saying…
Agreeing with an opinion
· Yes, I agree…
· That’s my view exactly.
· I would tend to agree with that.
· I couldn’t agree more.
Disagreeing with an opinion
· No, I disagree.
· I’m afraid I disagree.
· I see things rather differently myself.
· I wouldn’t say that is necessarily true.
· I tend to disagree.
· I’m not so sure about that.
Partially agreeing with an opinion
· I don’t entirely agree. It is true that……however…
· That is partly true, but…
· I agree with that to an extent. However…
Getting asked an opinion (by the examiner)
· What do you think?
· What’s your view / opinion?
· What are your views on…?
· How do you feel about…?
Saying your opinion could vary according to the situation
· That depends…
· I think it really depends…
· That depends on how you look at it.
Asking for clarification (part 3 only)
· Could you please explain what …(word)… means?
· Sorry, I don’t understand the question. Could you explain?
· Sorry, I’m afraid I didn’t understand the question.
· Sorry, can I just clarify what you mean. Are you asking me …(say what you believe you have been asked)…
Asking for repetition
· Sorry, would you mind repeating the question?
· Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Could you repeat the question?
Some Examples for using the phrases
Examiner: Some people think that children should not be allowed to watch anything they like on television because some programmes can negatively affect their behaviour. What do you think?
Candidate: I tend to disagree. I think children should be given the freedom to decide what is right for them to watch and not be told by parents what they can and cannot see. In other words, it’s up to the child, not the parent.
Examiner: Some people think that children should not be allowed to watch anything they like on television because some programmes can negatively affect their behaviour. What do you think?
Candidate: I wouldn’t say that is necessarily true. Most children are mature enough to understand that television is not real and so I don’t believe that it causes them any harm. I think children should be given the freedom to decide what is right for them to watch and not be told by parents what they can and cannot see.
Examiner: Some people think that children should not be allowed to watch anything they like on television because some programmes can negatively affect their behaviour. What do you think?
Candidate: I don’t entirely agree. It is true that some programs cause harm to children. For example, programs with very violent behaviour, so parents must ensure children don’t watch these kinds of programs too much. However, there has to be a balance. Children have to be given some responsibility to make their own decisions to and it is simply not possible for the parents to monitor their children’s TV habits all the time.
