EXPRESSIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND DEBATE
Asking someone for their opinion § That’s a difficult question to answer,
because…
about a topic § That’s a tough question to answer,
because…
Yes/No Questions § To be honest, that’s a difficult question,
because …
§ Do you believe in …?
§ That’s a very good question. The reality is
§ Do you believe in …?
that …
§ Do you think we should …?
§ What do you mean by that?
§ Do you think everybody should …?
§ What do you mean by …?
§ Do you think that…?
§ Well, it depends on what you mean…
§ Would you consider …?
§ Well, if you ask me, it all depends on your
§ Would you ever consider …?
circumstances…
§ Well....
OR Questions
Asking someone information
§ Are you for or against …?
§ Would you prefer…?
§ Would you rather …? § I’d like to know
§ What is better: - … or …? § I’m interested in
§ Could you tell me..?
WH Questions § Could I ask about …?
§ Do you know if…?
§ What do you think of …? § Do you know what….is?
§ What do you think of …? § Do you happen to know whether or not…?
§ What do you think of package holidays? § Do you happen to know what…. Is?
§ What do you think is the problem between
… and …? Presenting arguments
§ What do you think is the problem with …?
§ What do you think are the causes of …? Presenting the most important point
§ What are the advantages and
disadvantages…? § The main thing is…
§ The most important thing is…
Negative Yes/No Questions § Primarily
§ Most importantly,
§ Don’t they…?
§ Don’t you think it’s better to …? Presenting a number of arguments
§ Don’t you understand that …?
§ Don’t you see that …? § First of all, …
§ Can’t you see that …? § Firstly, …
§ Wouldn’t it be better to …? § Well, firstly …
§ Wouldn’t it be wiser to …? § To begin with, …
§ Wouldn’t you agree that …? § I’d start by …
§ Why shouldn’t they? § For a start, …
§ There’re two points here. Firstly, …
Delaying Strategies Secondly, …
§ There are two problems here…. Moreover
§ I can’t answer that directly. § You also have to consider
§ I’ll need time to think about that.
§ That’s a very interesting question,
because…
1
, EXPRESSIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND DEBATE
Adding an argument Agreeing
§ Also, ....
Expressing complete agreement
§ Again, that depends on …
§ In addition, …
§ Exactly!
§ What’s more, …
§ Precisely!
§ I might add that…
§ Totally!
§ Perhaps I should also mention…
§ Absolutely!
§ Not to mention the fact that …
§ That’s right!
§ Plus the fact that…
§ Correct!
§ Not only that, but…
§ You’re right!
§ You’re so right!
Giving your opinion about a topic § That’s so true!
§ I couldn’t agree with you more!
Expressing a strong opinion § I’m with you on that
§ That’s just what I was thinking!
§ In my opinion, … § That’s exactly what I think.
§ In my view, … § That’s a good point.
§ In my reckoning, … § That’s just how I see it.
§ I strongly believe in … § My feelings exactly.
§ I definitely think that … § I’ll say!
§ Well, if you ask me, … § You can say that again!
§ Well, I think …
§ I believe Agreeing in part
§ I strongly believe
§ I have a reason to believe § Yes, perhaps, however ...
§ I’m sure that… § Well, yes, but ...
§ I’m pretty sure that… § Yes, in a way, however ...
§ Hmm, possibly, but ...
Expressing a strong value ( It’s / They’re + value § Yes, I agree up to a point, however ...
adjective) § Well, you have a point there, but ...
§ There's something there, I suppose,
§ It’s a nonsense to … however...
§ ... It’s a scandal, because … § I guess you could be right, but ...
§ It’s perfect for … § Yes, I suppose so, however ...
§ It’s wrong… Likewise, … § That's worth thinking about, but ...
§ They’re ideal …
Expressing conditional agreement
Expressing certainty
§ I’d agree with you if …
§ According to government statistics, … § I’d certainly agree if you’re thinking of …
§ Actually, …
§ In fact, …
§ Clearly, …
§ Obviously, …
§ People have always …
§ People just won’t continue to …
§ Without doubt, …
§ There’s no doubt that ….
§ Undoubtedly
§ Surely, …
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Asking someone for their opinion § That’s a difficult question to answer,
because…
about a topic § That’s a tough question to answer,
because…
Yes/No Questions § To be honest, that’s a difficult question,
because …
§ Do you believe in …?
§ That’s a very good question. The reality is
§ Do you believe in …?
that …
§ Do you think we should …?
§ What do you mean by that?
§ Do you think everybody should …?
§ What do you mean by …?
§ Do you think that…?
§ Well, it depends on what you mean…
§ Would you consider …?
§ Well, if you ask me, it all depends on your
§ Would you ever consider …?
circumstances…
§ Well....
OR Questions
Asking someone information
§ Are you for or against …?
§ Would you prefer…?
§ Would you rather …? § I’d like to know
§ What is better: - … or …? § I’m interested in
§ Could you tell me..?
WH Questions § Could I ask about …?
§ Do you know if…?
§ What do you think of …? § Do you know what….is?
§ What do you think of …? § Do you happen to know whether or not…?
§ What do you think of package holidays? § Do you happen to know what…. Is?
§ What do you think is the problem between
… and …? Presenting arguments
§ What do you think is the problem with …?
§ What do you think are the causes of …? Presenting the most important point
§ What are the advantages and
disadvantages…? § The main thing is…
§ The most important thing is…
Negative Yes/No Questions § Primarily
§ Most importantly,
§ Don’t they…?
§ Don’t you think it’s better to …? Presenting a number of arguments
§ Don’t you understand that …?
§ Don’t you see that …? § First of all, …
§ Can’t you see that …? § Firstly, …
§ Wouldn’t it be better to …? § Well, firstly …
§ Wouldn’t it be wiser to …? § To begin with, …
§ Wouldn’t you agree that …? § I’d start by …
§ Why shouldn’t they? § For a start, …
§ There’re two points here. Firstly, …
Delaying Strategies Secondly, …
§ There are two problems here…. Moreover
§ I can’t answer that directly. § You also have to consider
§ I’ll need time to think about that.
§ That’s a very interesting question,
because…
1
, EXPRESSIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND DEBATE
Adding an argument Agreeing
§ Also, ....
Expressing complete agreement
§ Again, that depends on …
§ In addition, …
§ Exactly!
§ What’s more, …
§ Precisely!
§ I might add that…
§ Totally!
§ Perhaps I should also mention…
§ Absolutely!
§ Not to mention the fact that …
§ That’s right!
§ Plus the fact that…
§ Correct!
§ Not only that, but…
§ You’re right!
§ You’re so right!
Giving your opinion about a topic § That’s so true!
§ I couldn’t agree with you more!
Expressing a strong opinion § I’m with you on that
§ That’s just what I was thinking!
§ In my opinion, … § That’s exactly what I think.
§ In my view, … § That’s a good point.
§ In my reckoning, … § That’s just how I see it.
§ I strongly believe in … § My feelings exactly.
§ I definitely think that … § I’ll say!
§ Well, if you ask me, … § You can say that again!
§ Well, I think …
§ I believe Agreeing in part
§ I strongly believe
§ I have a reason to believe § Yes, perhaps, however ...
§ I’m sure that… § Well, yes, but ...
§ I’m pretty sure that… § Yes, in a way, however ...
§ Hmm, possibly, but ...
Expressing a strong value ( It’s / They’re + value § Yes, I agree up to a point, however ...
adjective) § Well, you have a point there, but ...
§ There's something there, I suppose,
§ It’s a nonsense to … however...
§ ... It’s a scandal, because … § I guess you could be right, but ...
§ It’s perfect for … § Yes, I suppose so, however ...
§ It’s wrong… Likewise, … § That's worth thinking about, but ...
§ They’re ideal …
Expressing conditional agreement
Expressing certainty
§ I’d agree with you if …
§ According to government statistics, … § I’d certainly agree if you’re thinking of …
§ Actually, …
§ In fact, …
§ Clearly, …
§ Obviously, …
§ People have always …
§ People just won’t continue to …
§ Without doubt, …
§ There’s no doubt that ….
§ Undoubtedly
§ Surely, …
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