How to Express Your Opinion in English - Phrases to Express Giving Opinion

Giving Opinions

Express Your Opinion in English

This is just my opinion, but...

This page lists useful expressions for the language function of giving opinions.

Elementary

1. I (really) think that …
2. I believe (that) …
3. I’m sure that …
4. In my opinion / My opinion is …

Pre-intermediate

1. I agree with …
2. I feel that …
3. I guess/imagine …
4. I have no doubt that / I’m certain that …
5. I strongly believe that …
6. I’ve never really thought about this before, but …
7. My personal opinion is that / Personally, my opinion is that …
8. To be honest / In my honest opinion, …

Intermediate

1. As far as I know, …
2. I agree with the opinion of …
3. I could be wrong, but …
4. I’d definitely say that …
5. I’d guess/imagine that …
6. I’d say that …
7. I’m absolutely certain that …
8. I’m fairly confident that …
9. I’m no expert (on this), but …
10. I’m positive that …
11. I’m pretty sure that …
12. It seems to me that …
13. It’s a complicated/difficult issue, but …
14. My (point of) view (on this) is …
15. Obviously, …
16. Some people may disagree with me, but …
17. This is just my opinion, but …
18. Without a doubt, …
19. You probably won’t agree, but …

Upper-intermediate

1. After much thought, …
2. After weighing up both sides of the argument, …
3. Although I can see both points of view / Although I can understand the opposite point of view, …
4. As I see it, ...
5. Correct me if I’m wrong, but …
6. For me/ From my point of view, …
7. Frankly, …
8. I am not very familiar with this topic, but …
9. I do believe/ feel/think …
10. I have come to the conclusion that …
11. I might change my mind later, but …
12. I reckon/suppose …
13. I tend to think that …
14. I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask, but / I have very limited experience of this, but …
15. I’m pretty confident that …
16. I’ve always thought that …
17. If you ask me, …
18. I'm (absolutely) convinced that …
19. In my humble opinion / IMHO, …
20. It could be said that …
21. It seems clear to me that …
22. It would seem to me that …
23. My initial reaction is …
24. Not everyone will/would agree with me, but …
25. Personally speaking / Speaking for myself, …
26. The way I see it (is) …
27. To be (perfectly) frank, …
28. To the best of my knowledge, …
29. What I think is …
30. You could say …

Advanced

1. After giving this matter some (serious) thought, …
2. As far as I'm concerned, …
3. As the old saying goes, …
4. Having given this question due consideration, …
5. I am of the opinion that …
6. I can’t help thinking that …
7. I know this is a minority view, but / I’m in the minority in thinking that …
8. I tend towards the opinion that …
9. I think it’s fair/reasonable to say …
10. I’ll tell you what I think, …
11. I’m entirely/quite convinced that …
12. I’ve come the conclusion that …
13. If I must come up with an opinion / If you (really) want my opinion, …
14. In my limited experience, …
15. It could/might well be that …
16. Know what I think? …
17. My opinion was best expressed by … when s/he said/wrote …
18. My view/position on this (issue) (is clear and) is that …
19. Off the top of my head, …
20. Plainly, …
21. Quite frankly, …
22. There is a part of me that says …
23. This may well be controversial, but …
24. To my mind / To my way of thinking, ...
25. To summarise my (rather complex) views on the matter, …
26. What I always say is …
27. With some reservations, …
28. Without a shred/shadow of doubt, …
29. You’d have to be crazy not to agree that / Any idiot can see that …

Common phrases

Many phrases are suitable in everyday speech and some types of writing, such as on blogs and personal websites. You have probably already seen or used some of these phrases:

• I think…
• I believe…
• I feel…
• In my opinion… and
• I would say…

For example, imagine you have your own food website. Today you’re writing or talking about the world’s best street food. You might say:

In my opinion, Bangkok has the best street food.

Add strength

But suppose you wanted to make the statement stronger. You can do it by adding an adverb or adjective. For example:

• I really think…
• I strongly believe…
• I truly feel… or
• In my honest opinion…

In addition, giving reasons for your opinion adds strength to the claim. Let’s hear the street food statement again:

In my honest opinion, Bangkok has the best street food. I have never seen more choices of what to eat – and everything I’ve tried has been delicious!

Formal phrases

Next, let’s look at a few phrases that are more common in formal situations. You might, for example, hear one of these at a business meeting or a conference, or in a formal paper:

• From my point of view…
• From my perspective…
• In my view… or
• It seems to me that…

Here’s an example:

In my view, cruise ships should be banned. They produce massive amounts of waste and use the dirtiest fuel in the world.

Though phrases like “In my view…” are usually more formal than ones like “I think,” there is no rule for where or when you can use them. It’s often a matter of personal choice.

Asking for opinions

So, imagine you’ve expressed yourself. But what about the opinion of others? Often, when we express an opinion or suggestion, it’s a good idea to ask other people for theirs. Phrases like these help show our desire to hear from others:

• What do you think of…?
• What are your thoughts on…?
• How do you feel about…? and
• What’s your opinion on…?

You can use these questions in many kinds of situations. You might ask, for instance:

What’s your opinion on Futbol Club Barcelona?

How do you feel about the new art director?

What are your thoughts on tonight’s activities?

Agreeing & disagreeing

Finally, let’s talk about agreeing and disagreeing.

Agreeing is the easy part. To show agreement, you can use short, clear statements. Let’s suppose a friend says, “I think summer is way more fun than winter!” You might show you agree by giving one of these responses:

• So do I.
• Me too.
• Definitely.
• I agree. or
• I couldn’t agree more.

Note that, “agree” is a verb in English, so be careful not to say, “I am agree” for the present tense verb.

You can also give reasons for your agreement:

I completely agree! I couldn’t live without beach days and outdoor festivals.

But what if a person says something you disagree with?

With close friends or family, we can use informal, direct phrases to say we disagree. You might say something like:

• I disagree!
• I don’t agree. or
• Yeah, but…

Here’s how that sounds:

Yeah, but winter has just as many fun things to do. You just have to dress warmly.

At other times, such as in discussions of more serious subjects, or in professional situations, these phrases can be too direct.

Suppose people at work or school are sharing opinions about politics or religious beliefs or something equally sensitive. For such times, your language should be more polite.

So, instead of saying “I totally disagree!” or “You’re wrong!” you might say one of these:

• I’m not sure I agree with you on…
• I’m sorry but I don’t agree. or
• I’m afraid I disagree.

Another common way to disagree politely is to tell the person you respect their opinion before sharing your own. Try phrases like these:

• I see what you’re saying but…
• You have a point there but… or
• I understand where you’re coming from but…

Listen to a short exchange:

We’re paying sky-high rents and other costs. Our business would save a lot of money by changing cities.

I see what you’re saying but, in my view, now is not the right time to leave Los Angeles. The city offers too many incentives.

Final thoughts

You’ve probably observed that, in real life, many people state opinions without using an opening phrase. They might just say, “Summer is better than winter,” for example. Though this is acceptable with friends or family or for lighter subjects, avoid doing this in professional situations or for heavier subjects.

Wow, that was a lot of information, wasn’t it!? The good news is that you don’t need to memorize it. In my opinion, you should choose only a few phrases that feel most natural to you and practice them whenever you can.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.

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