Expressing Views and Opinions in English

1. 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


2. Add strength

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.


3. Formal phrases

We need to be more careful with formal phrases to express opinions in English. It’s common to use a passive tense when expressing our opinions in a formal situation. 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…


4. 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…?


5. Agreeing & 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


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


According to scientists…
Apparently…
As far as I know…
As far as I’m concerned…
As for me…
Definitely.
Everybody knows that…
From my perspective…
From my point of view…
Honestly I think…
How do you feel about…? and
I (strongly) believe that…
I agree with…
I agree. or
I am not sure/certain, but…
I am of the opinion that …
I am sure / I am certain that …
I am sure/certain/convinced that…
I am under the impression that …
I believe that…
I believe…
I bet that…
I couldn’t agree more.
I disagree!
I don’t agree. or
I feel that…
I feel…
I figure that…
I guess that …
I have no doubt that …
I have the feeling that …
I hold the opinion/ view that …
I might be wrong but…
I really feel that…
I really think…
I see what you’re saying but…
I strongly believe…
I suppose…
I tend to think that…
I think…
I truly feel… or
I understand where you’re coming from but…
I would say that…
I would say…
If I am not mistaken…
If you ask me…
In my honest opinion…
In my opinion…
In my opinion… and
In my view…
In my view… or
It is generally accepted that…
It is thought that…
It seems likely…
It seems obvious that…
It seems to me that…
It seems to me…
I’d say that…
I’d suggest that…
I’m absolutely convinced…
I’m afraid I disagree.
I’m not sure I agree with you on…
I’m of the opinion that…
I’m sorry but I don’t agree. or
I’m sure that…
I’ve hear that…
Many people believe that…
Me too.
My conviction is that…
My point of view is that…
Personally speaking…
Personally, I think…
So do I.
Some people say that…
The essential point is…
The main points are…
The point is that…
The way I see it is…
To be honest…
Well, if you ask me…
What are your thoughts on…?
What do you think of…?
What I mean is…
What’s your opinion on…?
Yeah, but…
Yes, but don’t you think…
You have a point there but… or


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