Match these conversation gambits with their language function

Breaking in / interrupting
1. ………………………

“Excuse me”1 4. Listing excuses / highlighting information

……………………
Excuse me for interrupting, but…

May I interrupt for a moment? The main reason / thing is…

2
Certainly
The most important thing is…
Sorry, (but…)
What’s more,
Can I add here that… / Can I add something?
Perhaps I should (also) mention…
I’d like to comment on that.
I almost forgot…
I’d like to say something, if I may,
Another reason is …
Can/ may I ask something
Besides that,
Not to mention the fact that…
1. Used to attract attention.
2. The friendly way to say yes. Plus the fact that…
And on top of that,
To return to the topic
2. ……………………. And finally,

Anyway,… 5. Talking about problems

……………………..
In any case,…
To get back to what I was saying,… The problem is…
Where was I? The trouble is…
In a case like this,
Ordering facts / events
3. …………………….. In a situation like this,
First of all, In this sort of situation,
Then, What I’m more concerned with is…
Next, The real problem is…
After that, This raises the problem of …
Finally, The point is…
Don’t forget that…

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6. …………………….. 8. …………………..

Do you realise that… Frankly, I doubt if…

Believe or not, Let’s face it,
You may not believe it, but… The truth of the matter is…
It may sound strange, but… Let’s be realistic,
The surprising thing is…
But the (real) question is …
Surprisingly,
Oddly enough, 9. ……………………..
Funnily enough, I suppose…
I wonder if…
I think…
I suspect that…
I’m fairly certain that …
7. ………………….. I’m pretty sure that1…
I’m convinced2 that …
Generally, Without a doubt2,
By and large, I honestly feel that…
As a rule, I’m absolutely certain that2…
Normally, I strongly/firmly believe that2…
Usually, In my (personal) opinion,
On the whole, I personally believe…
I personally think / feel …
Not everyone will agree with me, but…

1. Informal, only with friends.

2. A strong opinion,

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A. Talking about problems

B. Generalising and trying to reach a conclusion

C. Speaking about surprising facts

D. Personal opinion and convictions

E. To return to the topic

F. Ordering facts / events

G. Listing excuses / highlighting information

H. Questioning claims

I. Breaking in / interrupting

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10. ………………..
The reason why…
Because of that…
That’s why… 12. …………………
That the reason why… Introducing:
For this reason… Many people think…
Some people say…
You’ve probably heard that…
It may seem…
At first glance it looks as if…
11. ……………….. Many people think that…
What I mean is… We take for granted that…
What I meant was…
Let me put it another way
What I’m saying is… Linking:
What I’m trying to say is… But in fact,
Don’t misunderstand me, But actually,
If I said that, I didn’t mean to … In reality,
That’s not what I said at all The fact of the matter is…
I’m afraid that isn’t true The truth of the matter is…

13. …………………
Can you explain why…

Do you mean to say…

I don’t understand
why…

Why is it that…

Does this mean…

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14. ……………………… 16. …………………….

I don’t see how… As a rule,

But the problem is… Generally,
Yes, but… In general,
I doubt… Generally speaking,
Possibly, but… By and large,
Yes, but the problem really is… In my experience,
What I’m worried about is… In most cases,
What bothers me is… Usually,
Most of the time,
Again and again,
Time and again,
15. ……………………
On the other hand, Less frequent:
But then again, Every so often,
Look at it this way, From time to time,
Anyway, Every now and then,
Even so,
Ok, but… 17. …………………
But in the long run,
Very true, but… There are exceptions, of course,
One exception is…
But what about…
But don’t forget…
Let’s not forget…

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J. Correcting yourself and putting the record straight.

K. Exceptions

L. Asking for an explanation

M. Seeing the other side

N. Popular misconceptions/we take it for granted

O. Introducing your reasons

P. Expressing your reservations

Q. Generalising

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 18. ……………. 21. ……………….
For example, I don’t know
For instance, I can’t decide
Take for example… I can’t make up my mind
For one thing, I’m not sure
To give you an idea…
22. …………….
19. ……………..
So what you’re (really) saying is… I’m afraid I don’t know
So you mean that… I’m sorry I don’t know
In other words, I haven’t a clue
If I understand you correctly, I couldn’t tell you
Oh, it slipped my mind
20. …………….. I’ve forgotten
That’s right It’s no good, I can’t remember
Exactly!
You’re absolutely right! 23. ………………
I agree!
That’s (very) true Well, let me see
I agree with you there Well, let me think
Yes, I know exactly what you mean I’ll have to think about that
Me too! That’s a good question
That’s what I thought How shall I put it?
That’s what I was going to say Let’s put it this way
Probably not. That’s a difficult question. Let me see…
I don’t think so
I doubt it
Yes, but don’t you think…
I agree with you, but…
Yes, but on the other hand
I can’t see that.

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24. ………………

Yes?
25. …………………….
And?
Really?
And then?
Would you mind repeating that?
Sorry, I didn’t catch the last part
Did you?1
Sorry, I don’t follow you
Have you?
What was that again?
Are you?
Sorry, what did you say?
Were you?
Sorry? I didn’t get the bit about…
Was it?
I’m sorry I can’t hear you.
………..
1.You repeat the auxiliary that the previous speaker has used.

26. ………………

Are you with me?

Is that clear?
Ok so far?
Have you got it?
Do you understand so far?

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R. Re-stating what another person is saying

S. Checking

T. Buying time

U. Showing interest

V. Indecision

W. Illustrating your reasons

X. You don’t know

Y. Agreeing and disagreeing

Z. Repetition/ communicating problems

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Key

1. Breaking in / interrupting
2. To return to the topic
3. Ordering facts / events
4. Listing excuses / highlighting information
5. Talking about problems
6. Speaking about surprising facts
7. Generalising and trying to reach a
conclusion
8. Questioning claims
9. Personal opinion and convictions
10. Introducing your reasons
11. Correcting yourself and putting the record
straight.
12. Popular misconceptions/we take it for
granted
13. Asking for an explanation
14. Expressing your reservations
15. Seeing the other side
16. Generalising
17. Exceptions
18. Illustrating your reasons
19. Re-stating what another person is saying
20. Agreeing and disagreeing
21. Indecision
22. You don’t know
23. Buying time
24. Showing interest
25. Repetition/ communicating problems
26. Checking

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