Short & Long Opinions- Phrases

Short and long opinions phrases

Label the phrases below with their function, including their strength where relevant (strong agreement, weak disagreement, giving strong opinions, asking for opinions, etc).

1. … Agreed?
2. Absolutely. 
3. Agreed.
4. Any (initial) thoughts on…?
5. Any objections to the statement…?
6. Any views on…?
7. Clearly.
8. Could be.
9. Exactly. 
10. Fair enough.
11. Good point.
12. I guess.
13. Keep talking.
14. Know what I think? ...
15. Makes sense.
16. No doubt
17. No kidding.
18. Nonsense. 
19. Not in my experience.
20. Obviously. 
21. Precisely.
22. Ridiculous.
23. Rubbish. 
24. Seriously?
25. Want to know what I think?
26. Without a doubt.
27. You think?
28. Quite right.
29. IMHO,…

Make longer versions of those phrases, preferably without changing the meaning. You might need to slightly change some of these words. 

Check your answers with the answer key or as a class.

Test each other in pairs by reading out the long versions and getting your partner to shorten them.

Do the same thing the other way round, asking your partner to lengthen the phrases.

Do the same but mixing them up. Your partner must remember if what you say is the short or long version, and then make the other version.

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Suggested answers

1. … Agreed? – Is that agreed?/ Are we agreed? – Asking for opinions
2. – You are absolutely right./ That is absolutely right. – Strong agreement
3. Agreed – That is agreed./ We are agreed on that. – Agreement.
4. Any (initial) thoughts on…? – Do you have any (initial) thoughts on…? – Asking for opinions.
5. Any objections to the statement…? – Do you have any objections to the statement…? – Asking for opinions.
6. Any views on…? – Do you have any views on…? – Asking for opinions.
7. – That is clearly the case. – Strong agreement.
8. Could be. – That could be the case. – Weak agreement.
9. – That is exactly right./ That is exactly what I was going to say./ That’s exactly what I wanted to say. – Strong agreement.
10. Fair enough. – That sounds fair enough. – Agreement or weak agreement.
11. Good point. – That is a good point. – Agreement or strong agreement.
12. I guess. – I guess so./ I guess that might be the case. – Weak agreement.
13. Keep talking. – Please keep talking and you might convince me./ You need to keep talking if you want to convince me. – Disagreement.
14. Know what I think? ... – Do you know what I think? – Giving opinions.
15. Makes sense. – That makes sense./ What you are saying makes sense. – Agreement.
16. No doubt – I don’t doubt it. – Strong agreement.
17. No kidding. – You’re not kidding. – Strong agreement.
18. – That is (complete) nonsense. – Strong disagreement.
19. Not in my experience. – That is not true in my experience./ That doesn’t match my experience. – Disagreement.
20. – That is obviously the case. – Strong agreement.
21. – That is precisely what I wanted to say./ That is precisely my opinion. – Strong agreement.
22. – That is (completely) ridiculous. – Strong disagreement.
23. – That is (complete) rubbish. – Strong disagreement.
24. Seriously? – Do you seriously think that? – Strong disagreement.
25. Want to know what I think? – Do you want to know what I think? – Giving opinions.
26. Without a doubt. – I have no doubt that what you are saying is true. – Strong agreement.
27. You think? – Do you (really) think so? – Strong disagreement.
28. Quite right. – You are quite right. – Strong agreement.
29. IMHO,… – In my honest opinion/ In my humble opinion – Giving strong (honest) or weak (humble) opinions.