Explaining and paraphrasing



Useful vocabulary to make your oral performance excel

|Explaining and paraphrasing |Hesitation |

|In other words, |Uh . . . |

|To put it simply, |Well, um . . . |

|To put it another way, |Let's see. |

|What I’m trying to say is … |Um, let me think. |

|What I mean by that is … |How should I put it? |

|And what it means is … |That's a good question. |

|All I’m saying is … |I'll have to think about that. |

|How can I put it? |Just give me a sec to think about it. |

| |It’s hard to say. |

|Recommendations |Being tactful |

|Make sure you +inf… |Quite honestly, I’ve seen better holidays. |

|I suggest/ recommend +ing …/ + clause |I would go for black instead, if I were you. |

|You should try -ing |Actually, I’m not sure you can say … |

|If I were you, I would … | |

|You’d better +inf … | |

|Disagreeing vs Agreeing |

|I can’t really see the point of v-ing I see what you mean |

|Well, I’m still not convinced that … That’s a good point / You’ve got a point there. |

|I wouldn’t say that. You might be right there. |

|Oh, do you think so? I’m with you on that. |

|That's not how I see it. I (completely) agree with you. |

|I don't really agree with you. That’s true. |

|I'm afraid I can't agree with you. That makes sense |

|I'm not sure I quite agree with you. I couldn’t agree more |

|Yes, that may be true, but . . . . Yes, that could work |

|Well, you have a point, but . . . . Well, it’s worth a try |

|I can see your point, but . . . . Yes, that makes sense. |

|I see what you mean, but . . . . |

|Do you see it that way? I think . . . . |

|I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. |

|Persuading |Giving advice |

|You’ve got to admit that … |What I’d do is … |

|Don’t you think ... could be more interesting? |Make sure you |

|In my experience, … |If you can, don’t … |

|It’d be a nice idea if … |It’s a good idea to … |

|One thing we could do is … |It’s absolutely essential to … |

|I wonder if it would be a good idea to …? | |

|May I make a suggestion? | |

|Wouldn't it be better if . . . ? | |

|Accepting a suggestion vs Refusing a suggestion |

|That's a good point. That’s a good idea, but... |

|Thanks for reminding me. That would be great, except for... |

|Yes, why don't we try that? Yes, but don’t forget/ keep in mind/consider that |

|I wouldn’t mind +ing Well, the problem is... |

|I’m sorry but I don’t feel up to... |

|Some other time, perhaps. |

| |

| |

|I really don’t mind. It’s up to you. |

|I’m easy. Whatever you like. |

|It’s all the same to me. |

| |

|Saying you’re surprised vs you’re not surprised |

|You must be kidding. I’m not surprised, to be honest |

|You can’t be serious Well, no wonder. |

|Why on earth (haven’t you told me before)? I bet you were. |

| | |

|Clarification: Others |Clarification: Self |

|Sorry, but I don't see what you mean. |What I mean is . . . . |

|Could you be more specific? |What I meant was . . . . |

|Could you explain that in more detail? |Let me put it (say it) another way. |

|Do you mean . . . ? |What I'm saying is . . . . |

|What do you mean by . . . ? |What I'm trying to say is . . . . |

|If I understand you correctly, . . . . |In other words, . . . . |

|What you're saying is . . . . |I didn't mean to say that. |

|What you're trying to say is . . . . (careful) |That’s what I meant . |

|Are you sure? (careful) | |

|Interruptions |Refusing Interruptions |

|Pardon/excuse me, but. . . . |Please let me finish. |

|Sorry/Excuse me for interrupting, but . . . . |Just let me finish my point; I'll get back to you. |

|May I ask a question? |I'd like to finish what I was saying. |

|May I add something? |Could I just finish my point? |

|I'd like to comment on that. | |

|I'd like to say something here. | |

|Could I just jump in here? | |

|What about . . . ? | |

|Resuming After Allowing Interruptions |Conversational strategies |

|In any case, . . . . |That’s exactly what I was trying to get at. |

|One last point, . . . . |Carry on, Pepito. You were saying? |

|To return to X, . . . . |What were you about/going to say? |

|To get back to X, . . . . |That’s precisely what I mean. |

|Anyway, . . . . |To get back to what (I) was saying about (...) |

|Where was I? |As I said before,... |

| |

|Saying you’re surprised vs you’re not surprised |

|You must be kidding. I’m not surprised, to be honest |

|You can’t be serious Well, no wonder. |

|Why on earth (haven’t you told me before)? I bet you were. |

| | |

|Clarification: Others |Clarification: Self |

|Sorry, but I don't see what you mean. |What I mean is . . . . |

|Could you be more specific? |What I meant was . . . . |

|Could you explain that in more detail? |Let me put it (say it) another way. |

|Do you mean . . . ? |What I'm saying is . . . . |

|What do you mean by . . . ? |What I'm trying to say is . . . . |

|If I understand you correctly, . . . . |In other words, . . . . |

|What you're saying is . . . . |I didn't mean to say that. |

|What you're trying to say is . . . . (careful) |That’s what I meant . |

|Are you sure? (careful) | |

|Interruptions |Refusing Interruptions |

|Pardon/excuse me, but. . . . |Please let me finish. |

|Sorry/Excuse me for interrupting, but . . . . |Just let me finish my point; I'll get back to you. |

|May I ask a question? |I'd like to finish what I was saying. |

|May I add something? |Could I just finish my point? |

|I'd like to comment on that. | |

|I'd like to say something here. | |

|Could I just jump in here? | |

|What about . . . ? | |

|Resuming After Allowing Interruptions |Conversational strategies |

|In any case, . . . . |That’s exactly what I was trying to get at. |

|One last point, . . . . |Carry on, Pepito. You were saying? |

|To return to X, . . . . |What were you about/going to say? |

|To get back to X, . . . . |That’s precisely what I mean. |

|Anyway, . . . . |To get back to what (I) was saying about (...) |

|Where was I? |As I said before,... |

Useful vocabulary to make your oral performance excel

|Explaining and paraphrasing |Hesitation |

|In other words, |Uh . . . |

|To put it simply, |Well, um . . . |

|To put it another way, |Let's see. |

|What I’m trying to say is … |Um, let me think. |

|What I mean by that is … |How should I put it? |

|And what it means is … |That's a good question. |

|All I’m saying is … |I'll have to think about that. |

|How can I put it? |Just give me a sec to think about it. |

| |It’s hard to say. |

|Recommendations |Being tactful |

|Make sure you +inf… |Quite honestly, I’ve seen better holidays. |

|I suggest/ recommend +ing …/ + clause |I would go for black instead, if I were you. |

|You should try -ing |Actually, I’m not sure you can say … |

|If I were you, I would … | |

|You’d better +inf … | |

|Disagreeing vs Agreeing |

|I can’t really see the point of v-ing I see what you mean |

|Well, I’m still not convinced that … That’s a good point / You’ve got a point there. |

|I wouldn’t say that. You might be right there. |

|Oh, do you think so? I’m with you on that. |

|That's not how I see it. I (completely) agree with you. |

|I don't really agree with you. That’s true. |

|I'm afraid I can't agree with you. That makes sense |

|I'm not sure I quite agree with you. I couldn’t agree more |

|Yes, that may be true, but . . . . Yes, that could work |

|Well, you have a point, but . . . . Well, it’s worth a try |

|I can see your point, but . . . . Yes, that makes sense. |

|I see what you mean, but . . . . |

|Do you see it that way? I think . . . . |

|I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. |

|Persuading |Giving advice |

|You’ve got to admit that … |What I’d do is … |

|Don’t you think ... could be more interesting? |Make sure you |

|In my experience, … |If you can, don’t … |

|It’d be a nice idea if … |It’s a good idea to … |

|One thing we could do is … |It’s absolutely essential to … |

|I wonder if it would be a good idea to …? | |

|May I make a suggestion? | |

|Wouldn't it be better if . . . ? | |

|Accepting a suggestion vs Refusing a suggestion |

|That's a good point. That’s a good idea, but... |

|Thanks for reminding me. That would be great, except for... |

|Yes, why don't we try that? Yes, but don’t forget/ keep in mind/consider that |

|I wouldn’t mind +ing Well, the problem is... |

|I’m sorry but I don’t feel up to... |

|Some other time, perhaps. |

| |

| |

|I really don’t mind. It’s up to you. |

|I’m easy. Whatever you like. |

|It’s all the same to me. |

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