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Search concise B2 rules, vocabulary and speaking phrases without leaving the course to hunt through past lessons.
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Giving opinions
Share what you think with appropriate strength and politeness.
"If you ask me, …"
Personal, informal opinion.
"From my point of view, …"
Neutral, suitable for most contexts.
"I'd say (that) …"
Soft, cautious opinion.
"As far as I'm concerned, …"
Strong personal view.
"It seems to me that …"
Tentative, polite.
"There's no doubt (in my mind) that …"
Very strong opinion.
Agreeing & disagreeing
Show agreement or push back politely.
"Absolutely. / Couldn't agree more."
Strong agreement.
"That's a fair point."
Accept the other person's argument.
"I see what you mean, but …"
Polite disagreement.
"I'm not so sure about that."
Soft disagreement.
"With respect, I'd have to disagree."
Formal disagreement.
"I take your point, however …"
Acknowledge then counter.
Clarifying & checking understanding
Make sure you've understood — or been understood.
"Sorry, could you run that by me again?"
Ask to repeat informally.
"So, what you're saying is …"
Paraphrase to confirm.
"Just to be clear, you mean …?"
Check specific meaning.
"Does that make sense?"
Check your listener follows.
"Let me put it another way."
Rephrase your own idea.
Asking questions & follow-ups
Keep conversations going and dig deeper.
"What made you choose …?"
Reason-focused follow-up.
"How did you end up …?"
Ask about a journey/process.
"What's that like?"
Invite description/experience.
"Tell me more about …"
Show genuine interest.
"Have you ever thought about …?"
Suggest a possibility.
Negotiating & suggesting
Propose, push back, and find middle ground.
"How about we …?"
Soft suggestion.
"Would you be open to …?"
Polite proposal.
"What if we …?"
Brainstorming tone.
"I can see where you're coming from, but …"
Acknowledge then negotiate.
"Could we meet in the middle on this?"
Suggest a compromise.
Storytelling & sequencing
Tell a story that keeps a listener engaged.
"So basically, this is what happened …"
Open a story informally.
"The thing is, …"
Introduce the key detail.
"Out of nowhere, …"
Add a surprise turn.
"Long story short, …"
Skip to the conclusion.
"And the funny thing is, …"
Add a twist or punchline.
Small talk & social
Open, sustain and close everyday conversation.
"How's your week been so far?"
Open small talk.
"Anyway, …"
Move on / change topic.
"Speaking of which, …"
Link to a related topic.
"I should probably let you go."
Politely close a conversation.
"Let's catch up properly soon."
End warmly with next step.
Hedging & sounding less certain
Soften strong claims — essential at B2.
"It tends to …"
Describe a general pattern.
"It could be argued that …"
Present a view neutrally.
"It seems / appears (to me) that …"
Soften a claim.
"More often than not, …"
General tendency.
"To some extent, …"
Partial agreement/claim.