Here you will learn how to give your opinion in English. Let’s start with a short video lesson. Alternatively, you can scroll down and read the transcript below.
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Harry
How to Give Your Opinion in English
Hi there. I’m Harry and welcome back to English in a Minute. We’re now going to talk about some expressions and the expressions we’re going to talk about today or in relation to giving opinions or offering opinions. So as always we’ll give you some examples. I’ll work my way through them and hopefully by the end of this little short video you’ll understand how you can give an opinion in English. So let’s get started.
Intermediate to Advanced English Marathon
INSANITY: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
- What you'll learn:
- better understanding of more complex grammar structures
- advanced English vocabulary words
- British & American slang
- perfect your listening skills through practing different accents
- This marathon is for you if you're:
- stuck at an intermediate English level
- tired of confusing explanations
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The first one is something like
Fair enough
So when somebody tells you something and you want to offer an opinion you might say.
Fair enough, I understand your point of view.
So it’s quite an informal way of giving an opinion.
Fair enough, I believe you.
Fair enough, I’ll accept your suggestion.
I know what you mean
So here we’re giving an opinion where we agree with somebody. Or they have said something and you say
Yeah, I know what you mean. The same thing happened to me last week.
Or
The same thing happened to me when I tried to join that particular club. I know what you mean.
Again slightly informal.
Do you know what I mean?
or
Do you want to hear what I think?
So these are two ways in which we can be a little bit more formal. ‘Do you know what I think?’ or ‘Do you want to hear what I think?’ or ‘Do you want to listen to what I think?’ So again expressing your opinion.
In my opinion
Very straightforward and very direct.
In my opinion, you’re wrong.
In my opinion, I think you should talk to your manager and explain to him what happened.
In my opinion, this is what I would do.
Okay. So very direct and a little bit more formal than the others.
Hear me out
Means listen to me. Again somewhat informal.
Please listen to me, I’ve got something to say, I’ve got an opinion to express, just hear me out.
How to Give Your Opinion in English
In my humble opinion
So you hear this quite often somebody obviously has an opinion. They definitely want to share it. They probably believe that their opinion is right and they have more information so they would use this
In my humble opinion, I think you’re wrong.
In my humble opinion, I think you need to apologise.
Another short one is
Frankly
Frankly speaking, I think you’re wrong.
Frankly speaking, I couldn’t agree with you.
Okay. So frankly, frankly speaking,
I take your point
I understand what you’re saying.
I take your point but …
I take your point but what I would do is the following…
It seems to me
It seems to me that you’ve been talking about this for a long long time and you’ve done nothing about it.
It seems to me that you really want the job but you don’t want to ask for it.
And then finally
The way I see it
So again a way of expressing your opinion.
The way I see it is you’re going to have to make the first move. You’re going to be the strong one.
The way I see it is he really wants to talk to you but he’s a little bit shy.
So all ways in which we can express our opinion. So as always subscribe to our channel and join us on www.englishlessonviaskype.com and don’t forget that we have some online courses about English grammar that you might like to purchase and you’ll find the link below and we’ll catch up with you soon.
Other Ways of Giving Opinions in English
I’m not saying I’m completely against it but the system has its disadvantages.
Generally speaking, I like to have a plan.
That totally depends on you and your goals.
I wouldn’t even consider moving to a different city.
I wouldn’t go that far but I was certainly impressed by the variety of projects.
I don’t have a problem if my correspondence is attached to the file.
I think it’s fair to say that people are not happy with the tax rise.
I think that goes without saying that it’s never OK to wear white to a wedding.
I’m sure some people would agree that this day is not just about celebrating.
More Information
For more information on English idiomatic expressions, English phrasal verbs and new vocabulary words, check out the following links:
ENGLISH VOCABULARY ABOUT MONEY
As always, plenty of material is available on BBC Learning English.
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