Material 14: Debate vocabulary

(1) When you start saying something / on the contrary! quite the contrary! just the
contributing to a conversation opposite!
First of all, I would like to say/state that That is the very opposite of what I said.
To begin with, I That is quite the contrary to what I said.
In the first line, I I maintain the contrary.
In contrast to what you said, I maintain
(2) What can you say instead of "I think" that...........
I would say/think
In my opinion (6) When you are "quite sure" of
To my mind something:
I am of the opinion that of course!
I hold the opinion that That goes without saying
It goes without saying that
(3) When you want to stress your I contend/maintain that................
"personal opinion": It's my conviction that..................
Personally I think
As far as I am concerned (7) When you want to "ask a question":
As for me May I interrupt you?
As I take it There arises the question/point whether/if
As far as I can see This question raises the whole issue

(4) When you "agree" or when you "don't
agree":
I entirely/quite agree with you.
I agree to (with) her plan.
I am of the same opinion.
I differ from/with you entirely.
I disagree with you: I am sure you're
mistaken.
I stick to my opinion.
Let's agree to differ!
(8) When you "haven't understood":
I beg your pardon. / Pardon?
Could you repeat what you've just said? But
slower, please./
Could you slow down a bit?
(9) If you should want to "correct a
mistake":
Excuse me (for interrupting) you should have
said:"....."

(5) When you want to say the "opposite"

of what someone else said: 1
(10) When you want to distinguish one
aspect from the other: (13) When you want to "say the truth":
on the one hand - on the other hand To be frank (with you)
in general - in particular Frankly (speaking)
generally speaking To say the truth
on the whole
taken as a whole (14) And if you are "not sure":
at first sight - on second thoughts I don't know exactly.
I don't know for certain.

22(11) When you want to "add" something: (A) General phrases:

In addition in other words
Moreover in this respect
Furthermore to a certain degree/extent
Finally It depends on your point of view
in brief/short
(12) When you want to "emphasize" To be brief
something: To cut a long story short,......
I would like to lay (put) emphasis (stress) on Let me put it this way:....
the fact that.. I don't know. - I don't know either.
I just want to point out that Nor/Neither do I.

Add the following expressions to the given categories I agree with / disagree with you; I
see/understand your point but ; You’ve got a point / a case there but; I´m not sure.
whether …; I have doubts / reservations about ; I don´t see that working in practice. ; It may
work in the short-term / in the long-term. ; I think that´s debatable. ; Prove it! ; Your
argument is flawed because... ; What´s that got to do with the issue? ; You´re missing the
point. ; It´s ridiculous to suggest that.... ; My feeling is.. ; If you ask me... ; As for me.... ; Bear
in mind that … ; You´d better do ... ; Let´s face it.... ; In general... ; On the whole... ; As a
rule.... ; It goes without saying that... ; What´s more / in addition / furthermore ; What I´m
getting at is... / What I´m trying to say is.. / My point is... ; What is your point? What are
you driving at? ; You´re not serious, are you? ;You must be joking! That´s nonsense / rubbish
/ ridiculous.
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