Useful language
Asking for clarification /more information
Changing the subject/Moving on
Checking that people are following
Checking that you have understood
Dealing with difficult questions
Describing aims and objectives/Intentions
Describing processes and developments and changes
Expressing doubt and reservation
Exemplification - giving examples
Expressing reasons and explanations
Giving, withholding & seeking permission
Holding the floor - preventing interruptions
Presenting and discussing results
- Why don't you ....
- I think you should ....
- My advice would be to ....
- I'm sure you ought to ....
- Don't you think it would be better to ....
- You ought to ...
- You should ....
- If I were you, I'd ....
- You'd better ....
- I couldn't agree more.
- On the whole, I think the speaker's arguments are fair.
- I (quite) agree.
- I think you're absolutely right.
- That's a very good point.
- You've got a very good point there.
- I fully support what you say.
- I totally agree.
- Exactly!
- I'm sorry.
- I apologise.
- I'm sorry to say that ....
- There seems to have been a mistake. I ....
- I can assure you it won't happen again.
- Excuse me.
- I beg your pardon.
- I'm extremely sorry about ....
- I hope you will excuse me if I have to ....
Asking for clarification/more information
- I didn't understand what you said about .
- I'm sorry, I didn't catch what you said about .
- I'm sorry, could you repeat what you said about .
- Sorry, but I'm not quite clear on .
- I'd like to ask you about .
- I didn't understand the bit about the ...
- What does . mean?
- I'm not sure what you mean.
- I don't see what you mean.
- Could we come back to that?
- Could you explain that again, please?
- What did you mean when you said .?
- Could you be more specific about .?
- Could you expand a little bit on what you said about .?
- Could you give an example of .?
- Could you explain in more detail.?
- So you're telling me that I can't .?
- So what you're saying is that .?
- So you mean that .?
- Are you saying that .?
- Am I correct in assuming that .?
- Let me just make sure - your point is that .
- If I have understood you correctly, your point is that .
- Excuse me.
- Could you tell me ...?
- Could you tell me how to ...?
- Would you mind telling me ...?
- Do you know ...?
- What happens if ...?
- Where can I ...?
- When can I ...?
- How can I ...?
- Something else I'd like to know is ....
- What do you think about ...?
- What are you views on ...?
- What do you feel about ...?
- What's your opinion of ...?
- What are your feelings about ...?
- Have you got any comments on ...?
- Could I have your reaction to ...?
- Do you have any particular views on ...?
- Don't you agree, ...?
- I think X knows more about this than I do.
- I expect X will agree with me when I say ....
- Can I ...?
- May I ...?
- Could I ...?
- Could I possibly ...?
- Do you mind if I ...?
- Would it be possible for me to ...?
- Would it be all right if I ...?
- Well . maybe . possibly .
- Yes, but don't you think .?
- I can see your point, but ..
- I think that's debatable.
- Perhaps, but don't you think that ..
- I see what you mean but ..
- I agree to some extent, but ....
- I see what you mean, but ..
- But isn't it really a question of ..
- But what about .?
- But surely .?
- But don't you think that .?
- I take your point, but ..
- It seems to me ....
- I tend to think ....
- I don't think I'd say that.
- I'm not so sure about that.
- You may be right.
- But all the evidence suggests that ..
- I'm afraid I can't agree with . on this matter.
- I wouldn't say that.
- I don't agree at all.
- I can't accept that.
Changing the subject/moving on
- OK
- Now
- All right
- I think we've finished that item.
- If we can now turn to ....
- Can we move on to the next point now.
- I'd like now to move on to ..
- Turning now to..
- Moving on now to.
- Having looked at ., I'd now like to consider ..
- I now want to turn to ....
- The next point is ..
- Another interesting point is ..
- The next aspect I'd like to consider is ..
- I'd now like to turn to ..
- What do you think about X?
Checking that people are following
- Is that clear?
- Is everyone following?
- All right?
- OK?
- All right so far?
- Are you with me?
- Do you see what I mean?
Checking that you have understood
- So you're telling me that I can't ..
- So what you're saying is that ..
- So you mean that ..
- Are you saying that .?
- Am I correct in assuming that .?
- Let me just make sure - your point is that .
- If I have understood you correctly, your point is that .
There are | two | types
| of X | : Y and Z.
|
The | are Y and Z. |
X | consists of
| two | categories
| . These are Y and Z.
|
Y and Z are | classes
| of X. |
We can classify X | according to
| W. |
X is like Y
| with respect to W.
|
Both X and Y cost �W.
|
X has a Y. | Similarly, it has a W.
|
- So ..
- We've seen that ..
- First we looked at . and we saw that ..
- Then we considered . and I argued ..
- In short ..
- To sum up, ..
- In conclusion, I'd like to emphasise that ..
- That completes my presentation.
X differs from Y
| with respect to W.
|
X costs �1,174, whereas Y costs �W.
|
X is expensive to buy. | On the other hand, it is W.
|
Although X is expensive to buy,
| it is W. |
- Let's start by looking at ....
- So, I think we have agree that ....
- Well, I think that covers everything.
- Does anyone disagree with this?
- Does anyone have any comments or questions?
- So is this the same as your experience?
- So, Y, what is your opinion of this?
- X, what do you think?
- Don't you agree, X?
- Do you agree with what X has just said?
- Does anyone else have any opinions.
Dealing with difficult questions
- . is important but it's too complex for us to deal with here.
- I think the aim of this talk is to focus on . rather than ..
- It's too early for us to say whether ..
- We don't have enough evidence to show that ..
- That's not something I've had time to deal with, but ..
- I'd prefer to deal with that point later.
- X is ....
X is called ....
X is known as ....
X may be defined as ....
X is a type of Y that/which ....
A type of Y which ... is X.
We call ... ....
We define ... ....
Describing aims and objectives/intentions
- What I'd like to do is to discuss ..
- What I intend to do is to explain ..
- In my talk today, ..
- My topic today is ..
- Today, I'm going to talk about ..
- I'm going to talk to you about ..
- My colleagues and I are going to give a short presentation on ..
- Today I want to consider ..
- In this talk, I would like to concentrate on ..
- The subject of this talk is ..
- The purpose of this talk is to ..
- This talk is designed to ..
- What is the function of X?
- What does X do?
- What is X used for?
- The thermostat controls the temperature.
- The thermostat is used for controlling the temperature.
- We use a thermostat to measure the temperature.
- The function of the thermostat is to control the temperature.
- The thermostat serves to control the temperature.
- A thermostat is an instrument for measuring temperature.
- A thermostat enables the researcher to measure the temperature accurately.
- The function of advertising is to market products and services to potential buyers in an effective and persuasive manner.
As you can see | from
| the | chart,
| ... |
We can see | that ... |
As you can see | from
| Table 1,
| . |
We can see |
As | the | chart
| shows,
| . |
figures
| show,
|
From | Table 1
| we | can
| see
| that ... | |
the | figures
| |||||
X | increased
| by | ... |
declined
|
X | increased
| slightly
|
declined
|
X | reached a peak.
|
- Where is it?
- What size is it?
- What shape is it?
- What colour is it?
- What is it made of?
- What does it look like?
- What is it used for?
- How does it work?
Position
A is | adjacent to
| B |
between
| B and C. |
Structure
X | is | nailed
| to | Y | by | Z |
consists | of | Y and Z | ||||
contains |
Colour
X | is | dark
| green
|
Composition
X | is | made of | metal.
|
Size and weight
X | is | 6 cm | long
|
X | is | 6 cm | in | length
|
6 Kg | weight |
The | length
| of | X | is | 6 cm |
weight | 6 Kg. |
X | has | a | length
| of | 6 cm. |
weight | 6 Kg. |
X | weighs | 10 Kg |
Shape
X | is | square
| in shape |
X | is | is shaped like a | square
|
- I'm going to deal with three aspects of the subject ..
- I'm going to divide my presentation into three sections.
- I've divided my presentation into three sections.
- I thought it would be useful to divide my talk into three sections.
- This subject can be looked at under the following headings: ..
- I'll take about ... minutes.
- The talk should last about ... minutes.
- I'll be happy to answer questions at the end
- If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them afterwards.
- If you have any questions, please feel free to interrupt.
Describing processes, developments and changes
- I'd like to show you how to ....
- There are three main steps in this process....
- The first/second/third step is ...
Firstly, | The first step is |
First of all, | The first stage is |
To begin with, | ... begins with |
Initially | ... commences with |
| |
Beforehand, | Before this, |
Previously, | Prior to this, |
Earlier, | |
| |
At the same time, | During |
Simultaneously, | When this happens |
| While |
| |
Secondly, Thirdly etc | After this, |
Next, | The next step is |
Then, | In the next stage, |
Subsequently, | In the following stage, |
Later, | Following this, |
| As soon as the committee has finished its work, ... |
| |
Eventually, | ... until ... |
Lastly | ... finishes with ... |
Finally, | concludes with |
In the last stage, | The last step is ... |
- But don't you think that .?
- I see what you mean, but ..
- But isn't it really a question of ..
- But what about .?
- But surely .?
- I take your point, but ..
- Yes, but on the other hand ....
- But all the evidence suggests that ..
- I'm afraid I can't agree with . on this matter.
- I wouldn't say that.
- I don't agree at all.
- I can't accept that.
Expressing doubt and reservation
- Well . maybe . possibly .
- I'm not so sure about that.
- You may be right.
- I don't think I'd say that.
- Yes, but don't you think .?
- I can see your point, but .
- I think that's debatable.
- Perhaps, but don't you think that .
- I see what you mean but .
- I agree to some extent, but ...
- It seems to me ...
- I tend to think ...
- That's a good idea.
- Good.
- Why don't you ...?
- Go on.
- I want to stress ....
- I want to highlight ....
- I'd like to emphasise ....
- I'd like to put emphasis on ....
- It's important to remember that ....
- We should bear in mind that ....
- Don't forget that ....
- The crucial point is ....
- The essential point is ....
- The fundamental point is ....
- Furthermore, ....
- What's more, ....
- This supports my argument that, ....
- It follows, therefore, that ....
- What (in effect) we are saying is ....
- That's a good idea.
- That's a very good point.
- You've got a good point there.
- I agree entirely.
- That's exactly what we need.
- I'm not sure what you mean by ....
- That's an interesting point, but ....
- You might be right.
- That's all very well, but ....
- I'm not so sure about that.
- Yes, but don't you think ....
- I can see your point, but ....
- You seem to have forgotten ....
- Very interesting. How exactly do you propose to ..?
- I don't see how you can argue that ...
- I can't accept that at all.
Exemplification - giving examples
- For example, ..
- For instance, ..
- And as proof of that, ..
- Remember .
- You only have to think of ..
- To illustrate my/our point ....
- To open the door, turn the handle.
- Turn the handle so as to open the door.
- Turn the handle in order to open the door.
- The radio may be turned on by pressing the on/off switch.
| Verbs | Degree of certainty |
complete certainty | is (not)
| certain(ly)
|
strong | can/cannot
| probably (is)
|
partial | could (not) | likely/unlikely |
less strong | may (not)
| possibly (not)
|
impersonal (i.e. no commitment) | It is said that ...
|
Expressing reasons and explanations
This relationship can be expressed in many ways:
Emphasising cause.
The death rate from cancer is increasing | because
| people are smoking more. |
The fact that | the death rate from cancer is increasing | is due to
| people smoking more. |
The
| reason for
| the death rate from cancer increasing | is that
| people are smoking more. |
An increase in the death rate from cancer | is
| one effect of
| people smoking more. |
results from
|
Emphasising effect.
As
| people are smoking more, | the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
People are smoking more. | Therefore,
| the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
People are smoking more, | as a result of which
|
Owing to | people smoking more, | the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
One
| effect of
| people smoking more | is that | the death rate from cancer is increasing. |
is to | increase the death rate from cancer. |
People smoking more | results in
| an increase in the death rate from cancer. |
People smoke more, | (so)
| resulting in
| an increase in the death rate from cancer. |
If | people smoke more | the death rate from cancer will increase. |
- That's not really what I was asking. My question is about ..
- Perhaps I didn't make my question clear. In fact what I asked was .
- I think you've answered a slightly different question. What I would like to know is .
- I understand that but what I actually had in mind was .
- Sorry, I'm still not clear about .
Percentage | Frequency | Verbs |
100% | always
| will
|
| rare(ly)
| could not
|
Percentage | Quantity | Frequency | Certainty | Verbs |
100% | all/every/each
| always
| certain(ly)
| will
|
| few/little
| rare(ly)
| uncertain
| could not
|
- First of all you ....
- The first thing you have to do is ....
- After you've done that, you ....
- The next thing to do is ....
- Make sure you remember to ....
- Be careful not to ....
Expressing manner - how something is done
- ... in such a way that...
- ... slowly, carefully, etc
- ... with care/precision
- ... in a careful way/manner
Expressing purpose - why something is done
- ... so as to .
- ... so as not to .
- ... so that .
- ... in order to .
- ... in order not to .
- Furthermore, ....
- An additional point is ....
- Another point is ....
- A further point is ....
- A similar point is ....
- In addition, ....
- Moreover, ....
- Similarly, ....
- Apart from ..., ....
- Not only ., but ....
- We can add ....
- I could add that ....
- Further, ....
- As well as...,....
- Besides, ....
- ..., as well.
- ..., too.
- ..., also.
- As we know, ....
- As we have already seen, ....
- As we have all read, ....
- It's clear that, ....
- It goes without saying, ....
- We all understand, ....
- It is understood, ....
- You'll remember, ....
- I definitely think that....
- I'm sure that....
- I'm convinced that....
- I really do think that....
- I'm of the opinion that ...
- As I see it, ....
- I think ....
- I consider ....
- I feel ....
- Personally, I believe ...
- In my opinion/view, ....
- It seems to me ....
- I'm inclined to think that ...
- I tend to think that ....
Giving, withholding & seeking permission
- May I ...?
- Could I possibly ...?
- Do you mind if I ...?
- Would it be possible for me to ...?
- I'm sorry to bother you, but ...
- Would it be all right if I ...?
- OK
- Yes, go ahead.
- Certainly
- Please do,
- Yes, I suppose so.
- Oh well. All right.
- I'd rather you didn't, if you don't mind.
- I'm sorry, but ....
- That's rather difficult, I'm afraid.
- I'm sorry. That's not possible.
- No, please don't.
Holding the floor - preventing interruptions
- There are two points I'd like to make:
- Although ...
- And another thing.
- If ...
- What if ...
- What you have done if ...?
- What might have happened if ...?
- If I could just come in here.
- Sorry to interrupt, but .
- I'd just like to say that ...
- Um ... um ... um ...
- I'd like to introduce ....
- Can I introduce ...
- We are very pleased to have with us today, X.
- Our first team member is, X. X is going to talk about ....
- Next we have Y. Y is going to present the results of our research.
- Come in and sit down.
- Would you like to give us your suggestions.
- May I invite you to represent us at the meeting next Saturday.
- That covers the main points. If you have any comments or questions, we'll be happy to hear them.
- So that explains our main point. Does anyone have any comments or questions?
- We'd be glad to try and answer any questions.
Firstly
| . | ||
First of all
| |||
The | first
| point I'd like to make is | |
Time
- In 1942, ...
- During the 20th century, ...
- Yesterday, ...
- Twenty five years ago, ...
Sequence
Before he was offered a job as a lecturer, | he had finished his research. |
- Before this, .
- For the previous X years, .
- Prior to this, .
- Previously, .
- X years previously, .
- Before.
- . before which .
- . prior to which .
When
| he had finished his research, he was offered a job as a lecturer. |
On finishing his research,
| he was offered a job as a lecturer. |
- For the following X years, .
- X years later, .
- After .
- Following this, .
- When .
- Subsequently, .
- Soon/Shortly/Immediately afterwards, .
- . following which .
- . after which .
While he was doing his research, | he made an important discovery. | |
When | doing his research, | |
While | ||
During his research, |
- During this period, .
- Throughout this period, .
- . during which.
- . throughout which.
- You should ....
- You must ....
- You have to ....
- You'll have to ....
- The university requires all students to ....
- It is necessary to ....
- Shut the door.
- Follow me.
- Listen!
- Would you like a ...?
- Would you care for some ...?
- How about a ...?
- Can I get you a ...?
- Can I ...?
- I'll ....
- Why don't I ...?
- Is there anything I can do?
- Shall I ...?
- Would you like me to ...?
Percentage | Certainty | | Verbs |
100% | certain(ly)
presumably
conceivably
| Of course, it'll ....
I expect it'll ....
There's a chance it'll ....
| will
should
can
|
| uncertain
certain(ly) not
| I doubt if it'll ...
Of course, it won't ...
| could not
|
Presenting and discussing results
- The results show ....
- The data suggest that ....
- As we can see, ....
- As the graph shows, ....
- We have seen that ....
If you agree with what the writer says.
- The work of X indicates that ...
- The work of X reveals that ...
- The work of X shows that ...
- Turning to X, one finds that ...
- Reference to X reveals that ...
- In a study of Y, X found that ...
- As X points out, ...
- As X has indicated ...
- A study by X shows that ...
- X has drawn attention to the fact that ...
- X argues that ...
- X points out that ...
- X makes clear that ...
If you disagree with what the writer says.
- X claims that ...
- The work of X asserts that ...
- X feels that ...
If you do not want to give your opinion about what the writer says.
- According to X...
- It is the view of X that ...
- The opinion of X is that ...
- In an article by X, ...
- Research by X suggests that ...
- X has expressed a similar view.
- X reports that ...
- X notes that ...
- X states that ...
- X observes that ...
- X concludes that ...
- X argues that ...
- X found that ...
- X discovered that ...
- As X said/says, "... ..."
- As X wrote/writes, "... ..."
- As X commented/comments, "... ..."
- As X observed/observes, "... ..."
- As X pointed/points out, "... ..."
- To quote from X, "... ..."
- It was X who said that "... ..."
- This example is given by X: "... ..."
- According to X, "... ..."
- X claims that, "... ..."
- X found that, "... ..."
- The opinion of X is that, "... ..."
- As X stated/states, "... ..."
- May I ...?
- Could I ...?
- Would you ...?
- Can I ...?
- Can you ...?
- Will you ...?
- I'd like to ..., please.
- I'm interested in ....
- Would you mind ...ing.
- I wonder if you'd mind ...ing.
In other words,
| . | ||
What I | 'm suggesting
| is | |
Let me put it another way | |||
Firstly, | The first step is |
First of all, | The first stage is |
To begin with, | . begins with |
Initially | . commences with |
| |
Beforehand, | Before this, |
Previously, | Prior to this, |
Earlier, | |
| |
At the same time, | During |
Simultaneously, | When this happens |
| While |
| |
Secondly, Thirdly etc | After this, |
Next, | The next step is |
Then, | In the next stage, |
Subsequently, | In the following stage, |
Later, | Following this, |
As soon as the committee has finished its work, . | |
| |
Eventually, | . until . |
Lastly | . finishes with . |
Finally, | concludes with |
In the last stage, | The last step is . |
- Can we move on to the next point, please.
- We need to move on quickly, now.
- The next point is .
- Sorry, that's all we have time for.
- I think we'd better end now.
- I suggest we move on to the next point.
- You can read these two chapters before tomorrow.
- You could be rewriting the report while we're away
- You might have to look at this book
- Why don't you call me tomorrow.
- Shall we move on to the next point.
- Let's enjoy ourselves.
- Why don't we have a break.
- What about having a break.
- It was generally felt that .
- Generally speaking, we felt .
- On the whole .
- We couldn't agree on .
- Opinion was divided on .
- We had some difficulty in deciding .
- We decided that the best way was to .
- After some discussion we reached a compromise on .
- On this graph, ..
- Take a look at this.
- Let's have a look at this.
- I'd like you to look at this.
- I'd like to draw your attention to ..
- Here we can see ..
- The . represents ..
- The graph illustrates ..
- As you can see, ..
- If you look closely, you'll see ..
- Look out.
- Be careful.
- I warn you it's going to be difficult.
- If you're not careful, there might be an accident.
Source: http://www.uefap.com/speaking/spkfram.htm