CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH: ADVANCED

SPEAKING TEST - USEFUL LANGUAGE

SIMILARITIES
• Both pictures show...
• In both pictures the people are...
• Both pictures were taken...
• The main connection/similarity between these pictures is that...
• Both/Neither...
• As in the previous picture...
• It is rather like...
• It appears similar to...
• It seems like/resembles...
• It shares characteristics with...
• It reminds me of...
• It has a lot in common with...
• It is pretty much the same as...
• It is comparable to...
DIFFERENCES
• The opposing view/viewpoint...
• The conflicting view/In contrast...
• On the other hand / however / still / but / nonetheless / nevertheless
• Like/Unlike in the first picture...
• X is a bit/considerably more...
• X isn` t quite as... as...
• While/Whereas X is..., Y is...
• The first picture shows..., whereas the second one...
• In the picture on the left..., whereas in the other one...
• The main/most(striking..., significant..., obvious) difference between the two pictures is...
• There are several differences between the pictures: firstly/to begin with/in the first
place/secondly/then/furthermore/finally/last/last but not least...
SPECULATING
• I might be wrong/am not sure but I think it has to do with...
• I can` t see exactly what they are doing, but...
• He/she is probably feeling... because he/she finally managed to/achieved...
• I can imagine how he/she feels... / My impression/guess is that...
• To judge from the clothes/posture/mimic/facial expression/gestures...
• Apparently... / I` m fairly sure...
• They could/might/may be... / They seem/appear to be...
• They must/might/may have… been/seen/thought/ had… etc before this picture was taken .… because…
• I suppose/assume/imagine/guess/feel/believe/am confident that...
 • I can` t be certain, but perhaps... / It looks to me as if...
• On second thoughts... / I wouldn‘t be surprised if...
• I suppose it` s just possible that... / Judging by the fact that..., she/he must be...
• There is a distinct possibility... / He could (well) be a...
• I` d say he/she` s probably a/quite a... person...
• I should think he` s either a..., or a ..., because...
MAKING SUGGESTIONS
• Let` s..., shall we...?
• Why don` t we..., otherwise we could... instead...
• I (would) (strongly) suggest/recommend...
• One solution/suggestion would be to... / It would be a good idea to...
• You should/ought to/might want to think about...
• Would you be interested in...? / I thought you might like...
• I was thinking it would be nice/a nice change...
• So, what do you think...? / What/How about...?
• Maybe we could... / Have you thought about...?
• One way forward would be to...
• I feel there` s something to be said for...
• A lot can be achieved by...
• ... would (greatly) alleviate the situation...
• Why not..., that way...
AGREEING & DISAGREEING
• I couldn`t agree more... / I quite agree with you
• That` s very true because... / Right, especially if...
• Positively, because... / I think so, too...
• You` re absolutely right. For example, when...
• I completely agree with you about that...
• That `s exactly what I think.

• That` s not entirely true...

• I` m inclined to agree with you... but...
• I` m not sure I totally agree, because...
• I see what you mean/perhaps you are right, but on the other hand...
• There` s a lot in what you` re saying. However...
• I see what you` re getting at, but...
• In a way you` re right, but I think it all depends on...
• I agree with you up to a point, but I think there are other factors to be taken in consideration...
CONCLUDING
• All things considered...
• This would mean that...
• As a result...
• All in all...
• So, as you can see...
• In a word...
• To sum up/summarize...
• In short/conclusion...
• In the light of the arguments (advantages and drawbacks)...
• In my view...
• I personally believe/think that...