USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR CAMBRIDGE SPEAKING EXAM PART 3
GETTING STARTED
KEEPING THE
CONVERSATION GOING
ASKING FOR OPINION /
INVITING A RESPONSE /
ASKING THE OTHER PERSON
TO COMMENT ON YOUR
OPINION
ASKING FOR REASONS
ASKING FOR CLARIFICATION
CLARIFYING
INTERRUPTING POLITELY
ADDING POINTS
AGREEING
AGREEING BUT MENTIONING
OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINION
POLITELY DISAGREEING
Shall we start with this one ?
Let's start with ....., shall we ?
Would you like to begin or shall I ?
Shall we move on to the next one?
Let's go on to the next one.
What about .....?
What do you think of / about (the next point / situation)?
How do you feel about (the next point / situation) ?
What do you think?
Do you agree with that ?
What's your opinion ?
What are your feelings about this ?
How do you feel about ?
Would you go along with that ?
Would you agree with that ?
Don't you think / find / consider that ....?
Tag questions
Could you tell me why ?
Is that because ...?
Why do you think so ?
Why do you say that ?
Is there any particular reason why you think / say that ?
I'm not sure I follow you.
What exactly do you mean ?
Could you explain, please ?
I'm sorry if I didn't explain it very well. What I meant to say is...
Let me put it another way.
That wasn't quite what I had in mind. I meant something more like...
Could I say something, please ?
Do you mind if I add something here ?
If I could just make a point here.
I'd just like to say something about that.
I would like to comment on that if I may / if you don't mind.
I'm sorry, but could I just say...
And another thing / aspect is...
Apart from that, ... / In addition / Moreover / What is more, ....
As well as that, ... /Just as importantly,....
Even better,....
There's also the fact that...
That's just what I was thinking, too.
Right. Yes, I agree with that.
I think so, too.
Yes, you're absolutely right.
That's a very good point. / That's a great idea.
You've got a point here.
Absolutely.
That's exactly what I would have said.
I totally agree, but some people might say / argue...
Yes, you're right, but it is sometimes claimed that ....
This is / might be true. However / Nevertheless / On the other hand
Perhaps, but what about...
I'm not so sure. Don't you think ....?
I think I'd rather...
It might be better to...
I'm not really that keen on...
I don't really agree with...
POLITELY DISAGREEING AND I'm not sure I agree. For one thing, ... And for another,...
GIVING REASONS I don't really see it quite that way. After all, .....
TRYING TO CHANGE But don't you think that ...?
SOMEONE'S OPINION / Yes, but isn't it true that ...?
TRYING TO PERSUADE However wouldn't you agree that ...?
Yes, but on the other hand...
But isn't it possible that ...?
Perhaps another way of looking at it would be ....
HYPOTHESISING What if ....
If I were to...
Let's suppose that....
This might be .... / might have been.....
It is possible / It might be possible that.....
Maybe / Perhaps / Probably / There is a (slight ) chance that...
MAKING DEDUCTIONS This must be ... / must have been ...
This can't be .... / couldn't have been...
I am sure / certain that....
It is likely // unlikely that....
TALKING ABOUT CAUSE AND One reason / The main reason of that is....
EFFECT This is why .....
This is because ...
Thus / Therefore / Consequently / As a result ...
EXPRESSING AND In my opinion / To my mind / I think / I consider / I believe.....
JUSTIFYING OPINION because / as .....
One / The main reason why I think that is ....
EXPRESSING AND I'd rather choose .... than..... because / as
JUSTIFYING PREFERENCE I would definitely choose / prefer to ..... because / as .....
I'd prefer to choose .... because / as ......
REACHING A DECISION Which one do you think is the most important ?
Which do you think would be the best?
So which shall we choose ?
Are we both in favour of that one ?
Shall we have these two, then ?
Do you think we've settled the question ?
We've got very different opinions, so let's agree to differ.
I don't think we agree, so let's leave it at that.
Let's just agree to disagree.