leanenglish

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Imperatives and how to give orders politely 

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Phrasal verbs review and patterns

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Learn about subject and object questions and how to make them.

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English Expressions: three-word phrasal verbs

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Asking opinions (formal)

Formal phrases for asking for an opinion:

Gentlemen, what do you think ....?

What's you reaction to that, Bruce?

George. What would you like to add?

How do you feel about that, Cecilia?

Could you please share your thoughts on that, Sam?

What's you view on this, Richard?

Terry, what's your feeling on this?

Formal phrases for expressing an opinion:

I tend to feel that ...

Well, from my point of view ....

I wonder if I could say something. 

Well, It seems to me that ...

I have the impression that ...

Don't you think that ...

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Expression Opinions

Common phrases for giving reasons and offering explanations:

To start with ...

The reason why ...

That's why ...

For this reason ...

That the reason why ...

Many people think ...

Considering ...

Allowing for the fact that ...

When you considering that ...

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Expressing Opinion

Common phrases to use when disagreeing:

I don't think that ...

Don't you think it would be better ...

I don't agree, I'd prefer ...

Shouldn't we consider ...

But what about ...

I'm afraid I don't agree ...

Frankly, I doubt if ...

Let's face it, the true of the matter is ...

The problem with your point of view is that ...

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Expression Opinions

Common phrases to use when expressing an opinion or an idea:

I think …

In my opinion …

I’d like to …

I’d rather …

I’d prefer …

The way I see …

As far as I’m concerned …

If it were up to me …

I suppose …

I suspect that …

I’m pretty sure that …

It is fairly certain that …

I’m convinced that …

I honestly feel that …

I strong believe that …

Without a doubt … 

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Words with many meanings

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Practically speaking: Showing understanding

I know what you mean

It's quite hectic over here too

No, it hasn't?

I might be worth sending an email ...

I hear what you're seeing. I mean ...

I know this is a tricky time for a lot of you ...

I can see where you're coming from.

I had a similar problem at my last company ...

I still think you should send the request again, though.

Well, you might want to word it so that ...

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Key Expressions: Giving a formal presentation

Outlining a structure:

I've divided my talk up into ...

First of all, I'll ... After that, I'll ...

I'll conclude with ...

Beginning the presentation 

I'd like to start by saying ...

Referring forwards / backwards / sideways

 I'll return to ... later

As I said earlier, ...

I'll say more about ... in a moment.

Just to digress for a second, ...

Signalling the next section

OK, moving on ...

Turning to ...

This brings me to ...

Ensuring understanding of a specialist subject

Just to fill you in on some of the background, ...

By ... I mean ...

Now I don't know if you're familiar with ...

Well, ... refers to ...

This is where ...

And perhaps here I should explain what I mean by ...

That's when ...

So, for example, ...

Ending the presentation

And this is my key point.

To sum up, ....

I'll be happy to take any question now.

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Key Expressions: Managing the discussion & Sharing ideas

Managing the discussion:

So let's get started.

The purpose of today's meeting is ...

Can I suggest we come back to ...?

Coming back to ...

I'll get on to that in a moment.

Involving people:

Perhaps you'd like to talk us through ...

Did you want to talk about ...?

Asking / giving permission to speak:

Would this be the right moment to mention ...?

Could I just say something?

If I could just come in there ...

Go ahead.

Putting forward unpopular ideas:

I know you're not keen on it, but ...

You probably won't like this idea ...

I'm not sure what your feelings are about this, but ...

Putting forward ideas under consideration:

We were wondering if ...

Something else we've been thinking about is ...

Putting forward ideas your are confident about:

I'm sure you'll understand the need to ...

The obvious solution to this problem must be to ...

Disagreeing / expressing reservation:

It's interesting you should say that, because actually ...

You're absolutely right, but ...

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How to use linking words or discourse markers to show contrast (however/ despite / although)

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When should we use the present perfect tense?

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Using Mind Maps

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Multiword verbs

STICK UP FOR:

Def: To support or defend (a person or cause). 

Ex: They pick on her and she won't stick up for herself.

STAND UP TO:

Def: To make a spirited defence against: 

Ex: Giving workers the confidence to stand up to their employers.

STAND UP FOR:

Def: To speak or act in support of. 

Ex: She learned to stand up for herself.

HOLD ON TO:

Def: To keep.

Ex: The industry is trying to hold on to experienced staff.

CLING ON TO:

Def: To try very hard to keep something.

Ex: He clung on to power for another ten years.

LOOK OUT FOR:

Def: To try to notice someone or something.

Ex: Look out for Anna while you're there.

STAY AHEAD OF:

Def: Ahead or on target with one's work schedule or responsibilities.

Ex: By the end of the week, I usually can get ahead of my duties, but not by much.

COME UP WITH:

Def: To produce (something), especially when pressured or challenged

Ex: He keeps coming up with all kinds of lame excuses.

MOVE ON TO:

Def: To change from one subject to another when talking or writing

Ex: Can we move on to the next item for discussion, please?

GET ON WITH:

Def:  To start or continue doing something, especially work

Ex: Stop talking and get on with it.

KEEP IN WITH:

Def: To continue to try to be friendly with someone, especially because they can help you

Ex: I like to keep in with my ex-employer, you never know when you might need areference.

STAND OUT FROM:

Def: To be very obvious or unusual

Ex: Standing out from the crowd.