Giving News I'm affraid I've got some bad news. I regret to inform you that...

You'll never guess... I hate to tell you this but... You're never going to believe this, but... You can't imagine what happened then! I have wonderful news for you. I'm pleased to inform you that... There's a bit of a problem. I don't like to be the bearer of bad news, but... Responding to Good News You can't be serious! Who'd had ever thought! I can't believe this! Wow! that's fantastic! Congratulations! You're joking! That's incredible! That's very good news indeed! Responding to Bad News Oh, no! That's terrible/awful/horrible. Oh, what a pity. Oh, my. That's a shame. Comparing Both people show... In both pictures the people are... Both pictures were taken... The main connection/similarity between these pictures is that... The first picture shows..., whereas the second one... In the picture on the left... whereas in the other one... The main/most striking difference between the two pictures is... There are several differences between the pictures: firstly,... Similarly Likewise Also Like Just as Just like Similar to Same as Compare compare(d) to / with Not only...but also Speculating They could/may/might be... They seem/appear to be... I suppose/assume/imagine that... It could/might/may be that... I can't be sure/certain, but perhaps... Although I can't be sure, perhaps... Expressing Feelings Positive

I'd be really pleased/excited/delighted. I'd be over the moon! I'd be on top of the world! I'd be extremely trilled! Negative I'd be really frightened/bored/disappointed. I'd be scared to death. I'd be bored stiff. I'd be absolutely terrified. Preferences Positive Totell you the truth, I think I prefer stamp collecting to gardening. Personally, I like reading better than watching TV. On balance, I'd prefer to listen to some good music rather than play the piano. Given the choice, I'd sooner watch an video than go to the cinema. Negative I don't like skating at all. I like skiing far better. Television doesn't really hold my interest. I'd much rather go to the theatre. I'm affraid pottery isn't my cup of tea. I prefer sculpting. I don't think I'd fancy that. However, embroidery might be nice. Making suggestions I think we should... Would you be interested in...? I thought perhaps you might like to...? I was thinking it would be nice... It would be a nice change if... So, what do you think...? What about...? Maybe we could...? How about...? Responding Positively You're probably right. Sounds perfect. That's a great idea. That would be lovely. Responding Negatively I don't think that... Well, I don't know. I'm not sure that's such a good choice. Perhaps it would be better if... No. I'm affraid that wouldn't be appropriate. Expressing your thoughts In my view/opinion... I'm inclined to believe that... What I think is... My opinion/view is that... Inviting a response What do you think? What's your feeling? What are your thoughts? What's your reaction? agreeing/Disagreeing I'm inclined to agree with you.

I think so, too. That's exactly what I think. I'm affraid I disagree/have to differ/don't go along with that. I see what you mean, but I still think... Giving Advice If I were you... If I were in your shoes, I'd... It'd be/it's a good idea to... Hadn't you better...? You'd better... I think you ought to... It might be an idea to...? Have you (ever) though about considering...? It might be advisable (not) to... Reacting to advice given That's easier said than done. That sounds like a good idea, but... That's all very well,but... I'm not sure that would work. You could be right. I had never thought of that. That's true. Maybe I should... Well, you have a point but... I appreciate your advice... This is definitely the best/worst advice... Speculating about People's feeling Judging by his/her expression, she must be feeling... You can tell from his/her face that she's... He's/She's probably feeling quite... He/She looks very/quite/rather... He/She appears to be... It looks as if he/she is... Looking at the expression on his/her face... he/she appears... It is obvious... I would say they are... They must be... Discussing the cause of a problem It's clearly/mostly down to... It's not so much a result of... but rather of... It's partly/largely/entirely due to... I believe... plays a great/small part as well. I think... has a lot to do with it. In my view, is/are responsible for... A key factor is... The main reason is... I feel that... is/are to blame. The obvious culprit in this case is... Discussing the result of a problem This (often/invariably/directly) leads to/causes/brings about... as a result/consequence,... Inevitably,... Suggesting Solutions we/The government must/should...

One way forward would be to... I feel there's something to be said for... A lot can be achieved by... If we/the government (don't/doesn't)... then... ...would (greately) alleviate the situation. Evaluating They all have a useful contribution to make, but perhaps X and Y are particularly important because... I think that X plays a vital role because... If there weren't any Xs, then... In my opinion, X is of lesser importance to the community because... Agreeing and giving reasons That's very true, because... Right, especially if... Positively, because... You're absolutely right. For example, when... Partially Agreeing I'm not sure I totally agree, because... I see what you mean, but on the other hand... There's a lot in what you're saying. however,... I see what you're getting at, but... In a way you're right, but I think it all depends on... Asking Someone to Justify their Opinion Why do you think that? What makes you say that? Do you really think so? Are you certain about that? Comparing and Assessing X has had a greater effect/impact on... than... X has been more far-reaching (in its effects)...than... They are all useful, but to my mind picture X... The second is a better illustration of... than... As far as usefulness is concerned, X... Picture Y illustrates best what most affects our daily lives... There's not much to choose between X and Y as far as... is concerned... Polite Request sorry to bother you with this, but... I don't mean to cause a fuss, but... I can see you're very busy, but... I know this is a bit much to ask, but... can you do me a big favour? Could you do something for me? Making a request Would it be (at all) possible (for me/you) to... Do you think I/you could (possibly)... Could I trouble you to... Could you possibly... Would it be all right if I... I was wondering if you could... Do you mind if I... Responding to Requests Sure!

Go ahead! Of course you can/may. with pleasure. By all means. Be my guest. I'd love to help you, but... I wish I could, but... I'm affraid I can't do that. You see... Describing Similarities is rather like appears similar to seems like resembles shares characteristics with reminds me of has a lot in common with is pretty much the same as is comparable to Discribind Differences is nothing like is totally different from varies greatly from has very little in common with is quite unlike bears little resemblance to differs dramatically from Hypothesising For example, if you... then you would need to... Should you find yourself in a situation where... then you would have to... Supposing you... then you must... Without... you wouldn't be able to cope in a situation where... Imagine if you had to...; then you would almost certainly need to... What if... ? The only way to deal with that would be... It would be especially useful in situations where you are called upon to... Likes and Dislikes I don't mind... but I much prefer... I don't usually go for... instead, i'd rather watch... I can't stand... I find them really predictable/corny/ninteresting/tendious/depressing. I just love a good... some ... are alright, but generally I prefer ... . I find them much more moving/entertaining/enjoyable/charming/insightful/amusing/thought-provoking. Evaluating It is difficult to judge...everyone has his/her own style. What one person sees as art, another sees as... If it doesn't look good... people won't like it/try it... It must appeal to the eye... Different people have different priorities... Selecting It is hard to say... they all have their challenges... Some people have a natural talent... There has to be a personal connection...

I have to admit... is the most challenging. They all have their difficulties, however, for me... Placing an Order I wonder if you could help with an order, please. I am interested in buying... I would like to pay... It is possible to make a payment by credit card? Can I send you a cheque payable to...? My delivery address is... Reacting Most definitely, Madam/Sir. How can I be of help? Wonderful choice! I'll put the order through for you. How would you like to pay? could I have your credit card details, please? Name/number/expiry date? Could you confirm your name and address, please? Making a complain I'd like to make a complaint about... I'm calling to make an official complaint... Could you tell me who is responsible for..., please? I was rather hoping you could give me a refund/an exchange. Answering a complaint I'll look into this matter promptly. I'll do my best to sort it out for you. I sincerely apologise for... I'm awfully sorry! I'll do my best... You can either exchange it or get a refund... Selecting It's hard to choose, but I think... is probably the most effective... In terms of reaching large numbers, ... might be the most effective, is... Surely ... is the most effective because... They are all effective in different ways, but if we have to choose, I'd say... ... is obviously the most effective, since ... There is no doubt that... is the most effective. Personal opinion In my opinion/view, To my mind To my way of thinking I am convinced that It is my firm belief that I am inclined to believe that It seems to me as far as I'm concerned I thing that To list advantages and disadvantages One advantage of Another advantage of One other advantage of A further advantage of The main advantage of

The greatest advantage of The first advantage of One disadvantage of Another disadvantage of One other disadvantage of A further disadvantage of, the main disadvantage of The greatest disadvantage of The first disadvantage of To list points Firstly, first of all, in the first plate Secondly Thirdly Finally To start/begin with, Beginning: First, To start/begin with, First of all, At first, At the beginning, In the beginning, Continuing: Secondly, After this/that, Afterwards, Then, Next, Concluding: Finally, Lastly, Last but not least, In conclusion, To conclude, In a nutshell, To summarise, In brief, All in all, Overall, To sum up, Taking everything into account/consideration, On balance To add more points in same topic What is more, Furthermore, Apart from this/that, In addition (to this), Moreover, Besides (this), ...not to mention the fact that Not only ... but also Both ... and Also As well as To refer to other sources: To express causes With reference to Accordind to because, owing to the fact that, due to the fact that, on the grounds that, since, as In view of, Because of, Owing to for this reason To express effect: Thus, therefore, so, consequently, as a result, as a consequence, this means that To express purpose So that, in order to, with the purpose/intention of Contrasting ideas But However Although / even though Despite / despite the fact that In spite of / in spite of the fact that Nevertheless

Nonetheless While Whereas Unlike In theory in practice Neither...nor In contrast, on the one hand on the other hand, On the contrary Yet Even so Regardless of the fact that To emphasise a point: Undoubtedly Indeed Obviously Generally Admittedly In fact Particularly / in particular Especially Clearly Importantly Naturally Of course Needless to say To make partially true statements: As a (general) rule, To a certaint extent/degree To some extent/degree In a sense In a way To a limited extent To state other people's opinions: It is popularly believed that People often claim that It is often alleged that Some people argue that Many argue that Most people feel that Some people point out that Contrary to popular belief, To clarify/rephrase: In other words, That is to say, To put it another way,