Asking for a question to be repeated Expressing interest

Could you repeat that please? Right/Absolutely/That's true!

Sorry, I didn't hear that... And what happened next?

Sorry?/Excuse me?/Pardon? Oh, really? That's amazing!

Asking for explanation of an unknown Go ahead, tell me what you think...

phrase
That's horrible!
I’m afraid I don’t understand...
I think I can understand how it felt.
I don't know what it means...
I think I can understand your point of view.
Could you explain this word to me?
I can see your point.
I'm not sure - does it mean...?
So what was it like?
Playing for time
What is your opinion on this subject?
Well, I don't know... / It's hard to say, really...
What do you think about it?
There are many possible ways in which you
Would you agree with me?
can do it. One possible way is...
I see what you mean...
For instance,... / For example,...
That must have been really difficult...
May I think for a second? / Let me think for a
moment. It must have been hard ...
How shall I put it? Expressing and justifying opinion
It's difficult to say, but... I believe that...
Interrupting in a polite way It seems to me that...
Excuse me,... In my opinion...
Sorry for interrupting, but... If you ask me...
May I interrupt? Let me explain my point of view...
Can I say something? To be honest, I don't think that...
Sorry but there is something important I'd From experience, I know that...
like to add.
That's (the reason) why...
I'm sorry, I'd like to say something...
I think so because...
Excuse me, I'd just like to say that...
For example,...
That reminds me...
For instance,... In short...

In general,... Considering all this...

What I mean is that... Explaining the problem

What I am trying to say is that... I've got a problem and I wonder if you could
help me...
My point is that...
The thing is that... The problem is that...
The reason I think so is that...
I need to...
For that reason, I...
I am not sure...
Actually...
I have no idea how to...
In fact...
What I need is...
As far as I am concerned...
Asking for help and advice
To the best of my knowledge...
Excuse me, may I ask you something?
Bear in mind that...
Could you please tell me...?
What you need to consider is...
Could you do me a favour?
Another thing we have to mention is...
Could you help me with...?
As far as I know...
I'd like to know if...
Summing up the discussion
Can you tell me where I can find it?
So, all things considered,...
What shall I do?
All in all,...
Any idea how to go about it?
We both agree that...
Do you happen to know...? Where can I...?
To sum it up,... Finally,...
Sorry for interrupting, but I wonder if you've
In conclusion,...
got...? Is it possible to...?
To wrap it all up,...
Could you recommend...?
By and large
I really need your advice...
It leads us to the conclusion that...
Could you give me a piece of advice
These arguments prove that... regarding...

All of this points to the fact that... Do you know how I could...

On balance... So how do I...

Asking for details Showing the way

I see, but I still don't know how... Go straight on.

I can't really understand... Turn left at the next crossing.

Does this mean that I should ...? Turn right at the traffic lights.

Is there anything else I should know? Could Keep going until you can see a church.
you give me some more details? Do you think
Take the second turning on your right.
I could...?
Go past a museum.
And what if...?
Walk along the street.
What do you mean by this?
Go across the square.
I need to know one more thing...
It takes about three minutes to get there.
It is still not clear to me...
It's the first building on the left, you can't
Offering help
miss it.
Can I help you?
Agreeing
What can I do for you?
That's exactly what I think.
How can I help?
It's precisely what I wanted to say. You've
Is there a problem? convinced me.

What's the problem? You look a bit worried. Perhaps you're right.
Is there anything else I could do for you?
On the whole, I agree.
Don't worry, it's not so complicated!
You’re definitely right.
If you need my help, just let me know.
I’d go along with that.
I’ll sort it out for you.
You’re absolutely right!
Giving advice
I couldn’t agree more. Good idea!
I think you should... I think it's a good idea
to... I’m of a similar opinion.
The best thing to do is... What you could do Disagreeing
is...
That’s right, but don't you think that...
First/Second/Next/Finally...
That may be true, but...
If I were you, I would...
I'm not sure I agree with you.
I’d suggest... I'd recommend...
Perhaps, but don't you think that...
I can see your point, but... So let's agree on...

I don’t think so. OK, if you insist, but...

I can't agree with that, because... We need a compromise.

Not necessarily. ../Not really... Let’s meet in the middle.

You’re not seriously suggesting that...? Making, accepting and rejecting suggestions

I’m afraid it will not work... So instead of..., maybe we could...

I don't think it’s a good idea to... Why don't we...?

Remember that.../Don't forget that... How about...?

I see what you mean, but... Why not...?

I'm afraid I don't agree at all. Could we please...?

I’m not convinced (about it). I think you should...

I'm of a totally different opinion. If I were you, I would...

Asking for, giving and refusing permission All right, let's do it!

Could I...? Let's do as you suggested.

Do you think we could...? I don't think it's the best thing to do...

Would it be OK if we went there right now...? I think it's not good enough.

Will you let me...? I don't think it's cheap enough.

Sure, go ahead! This might (not) be the best idea.

Yes, (of course) you may. It might be too late to do that.

That’s fine with me. Apologising and making excuses

No, I don't think you could... Sorry for being such a nuisance, but...

I'm afraid it's not possible... That's not what I wanted to say at all. That's
not what I meant.
I can't go along with that because...
We do apologise for this problem.
That's absolutely out of the question.
Sorry about that.
Reaching a compromise
I understand how you feel but...
OK, so we can first..., and then...

Let's do it my way, OK?

Expressing your feelings In the left hand corner...

I am so disappointed! In the foreground, there is...

What a pity! I just can't believe it! In the picture I  can see...

Oh, that's a shame! There is/are ...in this picture

I must say I'm surprised. The central focus of the picture is…

I feel rather excited about it. On the right/left there is/are...

It's an unusual idea. There is/are ... in the background

Let's hope it will turn out right. I can’t wait to In the bottom part of the picture there is...
start.
There are... in the top part of the picture.
Expressing doubt
The people in the picture are...
They may not like it.
The people in the picture look happy\seem
But what will you do if...? sad because...

I've got some doubts about it. The general atmosphere in the picture is
positive\depressing because...
I'm not quite sure how to go about it...
The picture was taken in...
Are you sure it'll be the right thing to do?
The weather in the picture is...
To some extent you're right, but...
I'd like to show you this photo because...
Well, I haven't thought about that before.
The picture makes me feel happy/sad/
Finishing the conversation
inspires me to think about…
Thanks a lot!/Cheers!
The picture gives me the impression that…
That was very kind of you! Not at all!
It seems to me that/It looks like….
You're welcome!
I guess/I imagine\As I see it…
It's been a pleasure.
It is not very clear, but probably…
All right!/No problem!
I’m not sure, but it could be…
Describing the picture
Speculating about the situation
The picture shows...
It may be...
In this picture I can see...
They could be...
There is... in this picture.
Perhaps...
On the right\left there are...
It is probably... Comparing and contrasting

Another idea is that... Both photos show...

It is also possible that... In both pictures the people are...

It seems to me that the people in the
picture...
I get the impression that the people are...
They don’t seem to be...
It is not very clear, but probably…
I’m not sure, but it could be…
Expressing your opinion
One /the main similarity/difference is that...
In the first\second photo...
What both these pictures have in common
is... However, there are also some differences
between the pictures.
The picture on the left is more... than the
other one. The situation shown in Picture A is
more... than the situation in Picture B.

I think that... The people in the first picture are less... than
the people in the other one.
It's quite obvious that...
This man looks... while the other one is
The situation in the picture is unusual
rather...
because...
The pictures are similar because they both...
I don't think this situation is very common,
because... The photos are really different/similar, for
example...
In my opinion...
Another important difference is that...
It seems to me that...
In contrast,...
On the one hand/On the other hand...
I think the common theme here is ...
All in all,...
One/the main  similarity/difference between
I guess/I imagine…
the pictures  is that...
It looks like….
What both pictures have in common is...
I wouldn't feel comfortable in this situation...
The second picture  contains...  whereas the
I would love to be there! first picture...

Personally, I'd prefer...

I’d rather...

As I see it…

From my point of view…