Expressions for Discussions! The following lesson provides many useful phrases and expressions for discussions and conversations in English with ESL images.
Expressions for Discussions
Introducing the Topic
- Today we are here to discuss…
- The goal of our discussion today is…
Bringing in Other People
- What is your opinion, Mr. Ito?
- Do you agree with Mr. Ito’s opinion, Ms. Suzuki?
- Mr. Ito, what do you think we should do?
- Mr. Ito, what are your views regarding this point?
Keeping the Discussion Moving
- Let’s go on to another point.
- Next, let’s talk about…
- Let’s talk about that later.
Giving an opinion
- In my opinion…
- As far as I’m concerned…
- Personally, I believe that…
- The way I see it is…
Getting Further Information
- Would you mind explaining that a little more, please?
- Could you explain that more fully?
- Could you tell us a bit more about that?
Restating An Idea
- In other words,
- That is, …
- What I’m trying to say is…
- I mean…
- To put it another way…
Persuading Convincing
- You must admit that…
- Don’t forget that…
- You must remember that…
Inquiring about Agreement or Disagreement
- Do/don’t you agree, Ms. Suzuki?
- Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Ito?
Expressing Agreement
- Yes, that is right/correct.
- You are right/correct.
- I definitely agree with Ms. Suzuki.
- That is exactly what I think.
Expressing Disagreement
- I don’t really agree with him/her.
- I’m afraid I can’t agree with his/her opinion.
- That’s not quite how I see it.
- I can see your point, but I don’t really agree with it.
Expressing doubt or reservation
- Well, maybe, but I’m not sure about that.
- Hmm, he may be correct but I’m not sure.
- I can see your point, but I’m not sure I agree.
Refuting a fact
- Actually,
- As a matter of fact, …
- Well, I’m not sure that is true/correct because…
Dismissing an irrelevant point
- I’m afraid you’re missing the point.
- I don’t think that has anything do with the goal of our discussion.
Making suggestions
- Why don’t we/you…
- How about…
- I suggest that we/you…
Agreeing with a suggestion
- Ok. That makes sense.
- Of course.
- Certainly
Refusing a suggestion or request
- I’m sorry but that is out of the question
- Unfortunately that is not possible.
Capitulation
- Mr. Suzuki has convinced me that my opinion/suggestion/idea is not useful/practical/necessary/good. Therefore, I have changed my mind.
- OK. You have persuaded me to change my mind. I can agree with you.
Expressing similarities
- Those two points/suggestions are similar.
- Mr. Suzuki’s idea is about the same as Ms. Ito’s.
- My idea/suggestion is (more)….er than mine/hers.
Interrupting
- Excuse me for interrupting, but…
- Sorry to interrupt, but…
Getting a point into the discussion
- I have a point I’d like to make.
- I’d like to add something here.
- I’d like to say something about your/her/his idea.
Seeking clarification
- What do you mean?
- Sorry, I’m not quite sure what you mean.
- Do you mean that…?
- I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow.
- I don’t quite understand what you’re saying.
Paraphrasing another person’s idea
- What Ms. Ito means is that…
- What (s)he is trying to say is that…
Requesting
- Ms. Ito, I wonder if you would mind…………….., please?
- Mr. Kato, do you think you could……………, please?
Making comparisons
- Mr. Ito’s explanation is more/less…………than hers/his.
- Your opinion/idea is………….-er than mine/hers.
Expressing Preference
- I think the best/worst suggestion is …
- His idea is the…………-est (best, most reasonable etc.)
- Her proposal is the most/least…
- One of the most practical items is……………, so we/you should definitely take/use it.
Closing the Discussion
- In conclusion, the purpose of this discussion…
- The goal of our discussion is to….
- We have concluded that…
Introducing a point
- First of all I’d like to point out …
- The main problem is …
- The question of …
- Speaking of …
- What we have to decide is …
Enumeration of points
- First of all, I’d like to say …
- In addition to that …
- Moreover, …
- Furthermore, …
- Another example of this is …
- First, second, third …
- Finally, …
Stating something as a fact
- As everyone knows …
- It is generally accepted that …
- There can be no doubt that …
- It is a fact that …
- Nobody will deny that …
- Everyone knows that …
Expressing a personal opinion
- It seems to me that …
- I have the feeling that …
- I feel that …
- I’m absolutely convinced that …
- You can take it from me that …
- I think/don’t think that …
- In my opinion, …
- Well, if you ask me …
- As I see it …
- The way I see it, …
- Personally, I believe/suppose/ feel (that) …
- I’m convinced that …
Expressing pros and cons
- There are two sides to the question.
- On the one hand …, on the other hand …
- An argument for/in favour of/against is …
- While admitting that … one should not forget that …
- Some people think that …, others say that …
Expressing doubt
- I’m not sure if …
- I’m not convinced that …
- I wonder if you realize that …
- I doubt that.
Expressing disagreement
- I don’t agree with you about …
- I can’t accept your view that …
Expressing support
- You’re quite right.
- That’s a very important point.
- You’ve got a good point there.
- I couldn’t agree with you more.
- You took the words right out of my mouth.
Giving reasons
- The reason for this is (that) …
- I base my argument on …
- I tell you all this because …
Keeping to the point
- It would be more to the point if …
- Come to the point.
- That’s not the problem.
- What we are discussing is …
- … has nothing to do with my argument.
- That’s not relevant.
Drawing conclusions and summing up
- The obvious conclusion is …
- Last but not least …
- The only alternative (left) is …
- The only possible solution/conclusion is …
- Summing up, I’d like to say that …
- In conclusion, we can say that …
- To cut a long story short, …
- Just to give you the main points again, …
Expressions for Discussions | Image
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romey
Thursday 27th of October 2022
useful
Swati
Wednesday 14th of October 2020
Very nice ????????
Zaw Win Aung
Wednesday 2nd of September 2020
Join
Aaditya
Wednesday 18th of October 2017
Very nice , incomparable.
Premjeet
Tuesday 17th of October 2017
Very important post