Expressing opinion I think…. I believe…. I feel…. I suppose…. I guess….

According
to me…. In my view…. In my opinion…. In my eyes…. It seems
to me that…. From my perspective…. From my point of view….
From my view point…. As far as I’m concerned…. Personally, I
think…. I’d like to point out that…. What I mean is…. Generally
it is thought that…. Some people say that…. Well, it is considered
that…. It is generally accepted that…. My impression is that…. It
goes without saying that…. I hold the view that…. I’m of the
opinion that….

Starting an informal conversation
I don’t think we’ve met, I am Sheila; Are you from New York?;
What do you think of the speaker?; How do you two know each
other?; How is it going?; How’s your day going?; We are having a
busy / slow day today; Hi! Long time no see!; So, what have you
been up to lately?; Are you still working at …. Company /
project?; How was your weekend / have you got any plans for the
weekend?; It looks interesting; Have you seen that?; Nice to meet
you; Where are you from?; So, how do you and Jack know each
other?; What exactly do you do? How long have you been in this
country?; It’s long way, isn’t it?; I’ve heard so much about it; Tell
me, is it really as amazing as the say?; How did you get into it?;
How long have you been in (business/project, etc.); Can you
believe all this snow / rain we have been having?

Use format for topic talk, such as, who, what, when, why & how
with intro/middle/ending.
Business context  “Today I’m here to talk to you about…”
 “I’m delighted to be here today to tell you about…”
 “Today I would like to outline our plans for…”
 “Firstly I’ll talk about…” or “I’ll start with some general
information on…”
 “Then I will look at…” or “then we’ll go over…”
 “And finally we’ll look at…” or “ To conclude we’ll touch on…”
 “I will be glad to answer any questions that you may have at the
end of this presentation.”
 “Sorry, I interrupted you. You were saying…?”
 “Please go on…”
 “After you…”
 “I’m sorry, but could you speak up a little?”
 “I didn’t quite hear that, sorry, can you say that again?”
 “I didn’t catch that last bit. Can you say it again please?”
• “Am I to understand that…”
• “Sorry, but just to clarify…”
• “So, what we’re saying is…”
• “Okay, I think we are all on the same page here…”
• “Yes, I get what you’re saying…”
• “I’m sorry but I think you may have that slightly wrong…”
• “From our perspective, it’s a little different. Let me explain.”
• “Well, yes and no—can I tell you how we see it?”
• “I understand that we can’t do that, but can we discuss some
other alternatives?”
• “I hear what you’re saying, but our bottom line is very clear on
this one.”
 • “This is the deal breaker for us, we can’t budge.” (Budge means
move, change or give up.)
• “I’d like to set up a meeting with you at your earliest
convenience. When are you free?”
• “Are you free to talk again next week?”
• “When can we talk about this again?”
• “How does 2:30 p.m. Thursday sound?”
• “Does Thursday at 2:30 p.m. suit you?”
• “Thursday at 2:30 p.m. then, that would be fine.”
• “Okay, I look forward to seeing you then.”
• “Thursday at 2.30 p.m. Looking forward to it, see you then.”
• “Thursday at 2.30 p.m., bye for now.”

How to agree I guess so; I suppose you are right; Rather; I couldn’t agree more;
Exactly; I’d go along with that; I am totally with you on that; I
agree…. I totally agree…. Definitely…. I couldn’t agree more….
Absolutely…. Precisely…. I see your point…. I see what you are
getting at…. I’d go along with that view to a point… Sure, that’s
one way of looking at it…. I have to side with you on this one…. I
suppose so…. I think so too…. I’d go along with that…. That’s a
good point…. I see exactly what you mean…. You’re right, that’s
a good point…. Actually, I think you’re right…. That’s true….
Well, I agree with you here…. You have my full agreement…. I
second that…. Ok, that’s convincing…. I take your word on it….
You took the words right out of my mouth…

To express partial agreement Up to a point; That may be a case with some, but not the majority;
Tell me more about it; That’s true, but accidents happen; I am not
quite with you

To disagree I am sorry, but I don’t agree; I disagree; Rubbish!; That’s

completely untrue; I am sorry, I can’t agree with you there; I am
sorry, I don’t think that’s right; No way!; Well, we have to agree
to disagree there;
I see your point, but…. I see what you are getting at, but…. That’s
one way of looking at it, however…. I completely disagree….
Well, I see things rather differently…. Umm, I’m not sure about
that…. I’m not sure I go along with that view…. I don’t really
agree with that idea…. I agree up to a point, but…. You could say
that, however…. I wouldn’t quite put it that way myself…. I still
have my doubts…. I can’t/ couldn’t go along with that…. That’s
out of question…. You’ve got to be kidding…. Well, I don’t quite
agree with you…. I find that very difficult to accept…. We don’t
seem to agree here…. Not necessarily…. That’s not always true….
There is no way I could agree with that…. I don’t think so…. No,
I’m not sure about that because…. I’m afraid, I disagree…. We
don’t seem to be in complete agreement….

Phrases for expressing interruption Sorry to interrupt, but…. Can I add something here…. Is it ok if I
jump in for a moment…. If I might add something…. If I may
interrupt…. Can I throw my two cents in…. Do you mind if I add

Change the subject
Asking for clarification
Describing graphs
Work
Character in the work context
something…. Umm, well not really…. Excuse me, but in my
opinion…. Are you telling that…. Excuse me for a second, but….
Sorry, but I’m not done yet…. Let me finish what I have to say
first…. May I say something here…. Excuse me for interrupting,
but…. Sorry to cut you off, but…. Well, that reminds me that….
So, you’re telling me…. I don’t mean to intrude, but…. Well, if
that is the case…. Sorry, but can you let me finish…. Wait a
minute…. Before you go on, I’d like to say something…. Before
you move on, I’d like to say something…. Just a moment, I like to
add something here….
Speaking of…; By the way; Sorry, this has nothing to do with
what we are talking about, but; I know what you mean. I had a
similar experience last week; While I remember; Before I forget;
That reminds me of;
No, what I mean is; Do you mean…; I’ve got it; Are you
following me?; Let me just check that I’ve got it right; I’ve got
that bit, just go over what I do next?; Got it; Here’s what you do;
Right?; Sorry, you’ve lost me; I didn’t catch what you just said;
Sorry, I have no idea what you mean; What did you say?; I am not
quite with you; Ok, here what you do; Am I making myself clear?;
I am sorry, could you just go over that lust bit again?;
“Could you speak more slowly, please?”
• “Could you repeat that, please?”
• “Would you mind spelling that for me, please?”
• “Could you explain that in another way, please?”
• “I’m afraid I didn’t get that.”
Plummets; nosedives; is on collision course with (= going to
disagree strongly with); there is a lot of turbulence in financial
markets; prices soar; free-fall; taken off; plunging to their lowest
level; climb out of; going in the right direction again; gets off the
ground; economy will make a soft landing; regain control; get the
economy back on course; interest rates will go through the roof;
smb gave assurance that the economy was still on schedule; are
stabilizing; is out of control; is out of recession; on course to
achieve targets; is delayed; rise; go up; increase; rise slowly; rise
gradually; go up steadily; rise sharply; fall/go down/ drop; fall
slowly; fall steadily; drop sharply; pre-tax profits; to pay back in
interest; healthy/strong economy; low interest rates; to keep more
of your profit; to grow / to expand
To be in charge of; to deal with; to be responsible for; to have
good prospects; to get a rise; staff; skills; timetable; to move the
goalposts = to shift a deadline; to work long hours; monotonous,
repetitive; challenging; rewarding; motivating; demanding;
tedious; demanding future training.
Affectionate; co-operative; aggressive; charming; ambitious;
moody; insecure; bossy; shy; selfish; self-confident; lazy; sensible;
sensitive; jealous; sociable; hard-working; unfriendly;
unimaginative; generous; disorganized; untidy; quite; impatient;
self-assured