FUNCTIONS:

Agreeing

Disagreeing

Hesitating

Introducing your opinion

Asking for opinions

Expressing preferences

Asking for clarification

Expressing likelihood

Speculating, guessing

Advice and recommendations

Describing a picture

Agreeing

I think you’re right

I would go along with the idea

I completely agree with you

That makes perfect sense

You have a point there

Absolutely, that’s spot on!

I couldn’t agree more

Disagreeing

That’s not how I see it

I couldn’t agree less

You must be kidding

That’s a ridiculous idea, don’t you think?

With all due respect, I must disagree

I’m afraid I can’t see it that way

No way, that’s nonsense!

Hesitating

I’m in two minds about it

I have some reservations regarding that

I’m not entirely convinced

There’s something that gives me pause

While I’m not entirely opposed, I do have some doubts

Introducing your opinion

To my mind

I reckon

In my opinion

As I see it

It seems to me

I would argue

From my point of view

Asking for opinions

Don’t you think …?

What’s your attitude to …?

What’s your opinion of …?

Are you in favour of …?

What’s your position as regards …?

You don’t support …, do you?

Expressing preferences

I prefer…

I would rather…

My preference would be…

I tend to favour…

If I had to choose, I would…

I lean towards…

I am inclined to…

I’m a big fan of…

I really enjoy…

I’m into…

I absolutely love…

I’m crazy about…

I’m fond of…

It’s right up my alley

It’s my thing

I can’t get enough of…

It appeals to me

It’s growing on me

I wouldn’t miss it for the world

I’m not a big fan of…

I don’t really enjoy…

I’m not into…

I can’t stand…

I’m not fond of…

It’s not my cup of tea

It doesn’t do anything for me

I’m sick of…

It gets on my nerves

It puts me off

I’d rather not…

It leaves me cold…

Asking for clarification

Could you please elaborate on that?

Would you mind explaining that further?

I’m not quite sure I understand. Could you clarify?

Could you provide more details?

Can you expand on that point?

Expressing likelihood

“It’s a foregone conclusion that…”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that…”

“I am almost certain that…”

“It’s highly likely that…”

“Chances are that…”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if…”

“It’s possible that…”

“There’s a chance that…”

“It’s unlikely that…”

“I doubt that…”

Speculating, guessing

“It seems to me that…”

“My gut feeling is that…”

“From what I gather…”

“If I were to guess…”

“It would appear that…”

“I reckon that…”

“I suspect that…”

“In all likelihood…”

“There’s a distinct possibility that…”

“It’s plausible that…”

Advice and recommendations

“You might want to consider…”

“Perhaps you could try…”

“If I were you, I would…”

“One thing you could do is…”

“Have you thought of…”

“May I suggest…”

“It might be beneficial to…”

“Consider this approach…”

“Why not give this a go…”

“If it were up to me, I’d…”

Describing a picture

“In the foreground…”

“In the background…”

“In the center of the image…”

“On the left side of the picture…”

“On the right side of the picture…”

“At the top of the picture…”

“At the bottom of the picture…”

“The picture depicts…”

“The image illustrates…”

“The photograph shows…”

“One can see…”

“Notice how…”

“This scene captures…”

“This photograph highlights…”

DICTIONARY

Add new and interesting words from this lesson to your English dictionary.

Store your words and expressions in this handy dictionary. You can create groups and play games based on your entries. There is also a practical importing feature.

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Sorry, but lessons on The Blue Tree work only on a computer or a tablet.

Bardzo mi przykro, ale lekcje na platformie The Blue Tree działają jedynie na komputerze lub tablecie.

Do zobaczenia na większym ekranie 🙂

Zespół The Blue Tree

Speaking Cards – Breaking the ice
Learn more words

THE BLUE TREE

Everyday English

CEF B1

CEFR B1

Intermediate

Practise English by describing this image

part one

Play this game. Answer the questions from the cards. Ask follow up questions to learn more about your partner.

part two

Model answers

Read and listen to a model answer to some of the questions from this game. The first one is for the question: What’s the biggest risk you have taken in your life?

Move your mouse over the bold words to see their meaning in Polish.

The biggest risk I have taken in my life was moving to another country to study and work. I didn’t know anyone there, and my English was not very strong at that time. I was worried about feeling lonely and failing, but I decided to try anyway. At first, everything was difficult, but little by little I made friends and learned new skills. Looking back, it was a big challenge, but it changed me and made me much stronger.

czuć się samotnym

krok po kroku / stopniowo

patrząc wstecz

Question #2

Now, do the same with this question: If you could relive one day in your life, which day would you choose and why?

If I could relive one day in my life, I would choose my graduation day. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, because all my family was there to support me. I had studied hard for years, and finally everything paid off. I remember standing on the stage and feeling nervous, but when I heard my name, I was over the moon. That day showed me that if you keep working hard, you can finally reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

niepowtarzalne przeżycie

opłaciło się / przyniosło efekty

zobaczyć światełko w tunelu (po trudnym okresie)

Question 3

Study the model answer for the question: Do you think climate change will change how we live in the next 20 years? How?

Yes, I think climate change will strongly affect our lives in the next 20 years. Many people may have to move because of rising sea levels, and we will probably need to cut down on waste and energy use. Some countries might experience extreme weather more often. But I also believe new technology can help. If we cooperate and make better choices, maybe we will turn the tide before it’s too late.

podnoszący się poziom mórz

ograniczyć / zmniejszyć

odwrócić bieg wydarzeń

Question #4

Study the model answer to the question: 

One small daily habit that improves my mood is going for a short walk in the morning. Fresh air always gives me a positive boost before the day begins. During the walk, I usually listen to music or a podcast, which helps me switch off from stressful thoughts. Sometimes I meet neighbors and exchange a few words. It may seem simple, but this routine helps me to start the day on the right foot.

pozytywny zastrzyk energii

odciąć się / wyłączyć się

zacząć dzień dobrze / pomyślnie

Question #5

Study the model answer to the question: What makes a good friend: honesty, loyalty, or a sense of humor?

For me, a good friend is someone who shows unconditional loyalty. Of course, honesty and humor are also important, but loyalty means that your friend will stay by your side even when life gets hard. A true friend won’t let you down when you need support the most. At the same time, a sense of humor helps you see the funny side of problems, which makes difficult moments much easier to handle together.

bezwarunkowa lojalność

zawieść kogoś

zobaczyć zabawną stronę sytuacji

COMMENTS

Choose one or more questions from this game and write your own answer. Post it here or send it to your teacher.

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