IELTS Speaking: Useful Phrases

STARTING
 To begin with, …
 First of all, …
 I’d like to start with …
 I’m going to tell you about…
 The (point / idea / etc.) I’m going to talk/speak about is/are….
 I’d like to talk to you about….
 I want to tell you about….
 I would like to discuss…

IF YOU NEED TIME TO THINK ABOUT THE

QUESTION
 Let me see …
 That’s an interesting question.
 Oh, that’s a difficult question.
 I haven’t thought about this question before.
 I’ve never really thought about that before.
 Now, let me think how I can put this. 
 I’ve never thought about it, but I could say that…
 Well, that’s an interesting question. 

 That is a complex issue.

 Let me think.

SAY THAT YOU'RE SURE / NOT SURE AND

EXPRESS YOUR OPINION
 It goes without saying that …
 It’s quite clear that …
 It’s worth pointing out that …
 It’s often argued that …
 It’s likely that …
 It’s unlikely that …
 There’s the possibility that …
 Oh, that’s an interesting question.
 Actually, …
 You know, I am not an expert in …, but I suppose that…
 I’m not really sure what I think about that, but…
  I’ve got mixed views on the issue of ….
 In fact, …
 Well, on the whole I tend to think that…
 To be honest, …
 I am absolutely convinced that…
 I don’t remember very well, but…
 The first thing that comes to mind is…

 Perhaps, …
 In my opinion, …
 Probably, …
 Possibly, …
 Certainly, …
 The way I see it is that…
 When it comes to me, I believe that…
 As a matter of fact, …
 The key thing is that ….
 That really depends on the situation.
 I believe …
 In my opinion, …
 I suppose that…
 I am sure that …
 I can only guess that …
 I tend to think that…
 I have mixed views about this issue.

 I don’t know a lot about this, but I guess…
 I’m no expert on this, but I would imagine…

YOU FORGOT A WORD OR WHAT YOU

WANTED TO SAY
 Sorry, it’s on the tip of my tongue.
 I’m not sure if this is the right way to put it but …

YOU KNOW THAT WHAT YOU'VE JUST SAID IS

RUBBISH
 Let me try and rephrase that.
 What I’m trying to say is …
 If we put it in another way, …
 So, the main point is …
 YOU MISSED OR DIDN'T HEAR
 Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. — Простите, я не расслышал (а).
 Could you say that again, please? — Не могли бы вы повторить, пожалуйста?
 Could you explain what you mean by…? — Не могли бы вы объяснить, что вы
имеете в виду под …?
 Do you mean…? – Вы имеете в виду ….?
 Sorry, I didn’t catch the last word of the question. – Простите, не расслышал
последнюю часть вопроса

EXPLANATION
 To put it another way, … — Иначе говоря, …
 What I am trying to say is … — Я имею в виду, что…
 What I mean is … — Я имею в виду, что…

ADDING AN IDEA
 I should add that…
 Another point would be that….
 Another idea is that…
 I almost forgot to say that…
 Besides,…
 Moreover,…
 Next,…
 In addition, …
 What is more,…
 Another reason why I like ….

DISCUSSING
 On the one hand….. on the other hand…
 Many people believe that ……. However,… 
 It is important …….. At the same time, there are other important aspects to
consider…

COMPARING (IN EXAMPLES)

 In comparison with children, teenagers are more independent. – В сравнении
с детьми, подростки более независимы
 Compared with the older people, youngsters prefer active entertainment – В
сравнении с людьми постарше, молодежь предпочитает активные
развлечения
 Middle-aged people often visit concerts. Similarly, many young people enjoy
going to concerts. – Люди среднего возраста часто посещают концерты. Так
же многим молодым людям нравиться ходить на концерты
 The same is true about… – То же самое верно касаемо….
 Small children tend to respect their parents’ values. In contrast, teenagers often
express their own opinion. – Дети больше уважают ценности родителей.
Подростки, наоборот, чаще выражают собственное мнение
 Older people prefer watching TV, while younger people enjoy going to nightclubs
and discos. – люди постарше предпочитают смотреть телевизор, тогда
как молодые люди любят ходить в ночные клубы и на дискотеки

GIVING EXAMPLES
 For example, …
 For instance, ….
 To illustrate my point, I would like to tell you about… 
 One example of …. could be….
 Let us take the case of ….
 There are many advantages of …., such as….

ENDING
 Finally, I’d say that….
 My personal conclusion would be….
 On the whole, I think that …
 In short, …..
 To sum up, ….
 In conclusion, ….
 Overall, ….
 To wrap up,….
 To conclude,…