Set phrases and cliché Expressing an opinion

In my opinion...

I believe (strongly, firmly) that… I am a firm believer that…

I feel that …

I think that…

I doubt…

I reckon…

I am convinced that…

I am sure that…

I am certain that…

As for me…

In my view…

To my mind…

There is no doubt that…

Doubtless…

There is no denying…

Nobody can deny that…

It’s clear to me that…

It looks to me as if…

As I see it...

If you ask me...

Personally, I think…

It is very common to start with the subject clause

The point I am making is…

What I am trying to say is…

What I mean is …

Agreeing and disagreeing

How true!

I couldn’t agree more.

That’s exactly right

I agree wholeheartedly with what you say.

That’s exactly what I was thinking (what I believe, how I feel)

There’s no doubt about it

That’s my opinion too.

Absolutely

Definitely

Precisely.

Exactly

You can say that again (informal)

For sure (informal)

You’re perfectly right.

Disagreeing

You’ve got to be kidding!

You’ve got to be joking!

Are you kidding me? Are you crazy?

Don’t make me laugh.

That’s absurd! That’s ridiculous!

You can’t really be serious!

You can’t really believe that!

Oh, get out of here! (very informal)

In formal situations

I don’t see it that way

I disagree with what you’re saying

I understand what you’re saying, but in my opinion...

I hate to disagree with you, but I believe...

Yes, that’s true, but my feeling is that...

You have a point, but don’t you think that...?

That’s not really how I see it.

I don’t really agree.

I can’t really go along with you there.

I think you are mistaken.

I am afraid I can’t agree with you there.

I’m sorry, but that’s out of the question.

That’s absurd. That’s ridiculous. (very strong disagreement).

Be polite when disagreeing

Well, I’m not quite sure, but I believe...

I still have some doubts, but my feeling is that...

Although I am not 100 percent sure, I still think that...

Well, I don’t know, but I’m beginning to think that...

That’s not quite what I said.

I am afraid, I don’t quite understand you.

Phrases helping to build a conversation

As I was saying/As I mentioned before…

If you ask me…

That reminds me…

Talking of language studying…

As far as I’m concerned / As far as I know…

When it comes to dancing…

The thing is… The trouble is… The matter is… The problem is…

Firstly (first of all)… Secondly… Finally…

You see…

You know…

Well…

To put it mildly…

To be perfectly honest with you...

To tell you the truth…

Frankly speaking …

Use linking words and phrases

On the whole…	On the whole, we are glad we came to live in Vancouver.
On the one hand… On the other hand…	This is a wonderful opportunity. On the other hand there are risks involved.
In general…	In general, parents care more about their children’s health than about their own.
Generally speaking/as a rule …	Generally speaking, French wines are more expensive than those from Eastern Europe.
Incidentally (By the way)…	Incidentally, these products can be dangerous if used carelessly.
By and large…	By and large, printed texts are easier to read than manuscripts
Actually…
All in all…	All in all, I think the conference was a great success
In fact…	The winter of 1940 was extremely bad. In fact, most people say it was the worst winter in their lives.
However…	I thought those figures were correct. However, as I have now discovered, they were not.
As a matter of fact…	The company is doing very well. As a matter of fact, we’ve doubled our sales budget.
Nevertheless…	The old system had its flaws. Nevertheless, it was preferable to the new one.
Anyway (In any case)…
At the same time/ having said that…	We cannot ignore the increase in violent crime. At the same time it is important not to exaggerate the problem.
On the contrary…	The economy will not improve this year. On the contrary, it is likely to get worse.
In contrast/by contrast…	Everywhere in Europe they use metric measures. In contrast, Britain still uses non-metric.
In addition to/in addition…	In addition to their normal teaching duties, teachers these days have stacks of paperwork to do. Our survey will produce the essential statistics. In addition, it will provide information about people’s habits.
Despite that/in spite of that…	Peter has a very busy schedule. Despite that, he managed to read the manuscript.
After all…	You shouldn’t seem so surprised. After all, I did warn you.
Otherwise…	You’d better go now. Otherwise you’ll miss your train.
Not to mention/let alone	Climbers had to carry all the equipment on their backs not to mention their tents and bedding.
Besides… Apart from that…	I don’t mind picking up your things from the store. Besides, the walk will do me good.
What’s more…	The prisoner has a gun. What’s more, he is prepared to use it.
Moreover/futhermore…	The drug has powerful side effects. Moreover, it can be addictive.
And so on/and the like	They sell chairs, beds, tables and so on.
In other words…	He did not reach the required standard. In other words, he failed.

Useful linkers and phrases related to time

for the past few years

over the recent years

for/over the past decades (months, weeks etc.)

for the time being

so far

in the near future

in the not too distant future

in the past

in the recent past

in the meantime…

within the last few hours

within the next few hours

10 years from now

sometime

one day