I believe that...

Making statements
We could... It is clear that...
It is a fact that, which means that... On the whole, it appears / seems that...
If we were to, it would... We must take into account the fact that...
I suggest w e .... We would then be able to... It goes w ithout saying that...
I feel strongly that we should... It is im portant to remember that...
I trust you will give my proposal your full consideration.
Explaining / Expanding ideas and giving
Reviews examples
X has much to recommend it. This means that...
X is, at heart, a(n) love / spy / adventure story. This is largely due to...
It is based on a book by... For example / For instance,...
It is set in the countryside / the future. In other w ords,...
The film has a quality cast. Take, for example, the situation in...
The film was directed by...
The film score is enchanting / evocative / scary. Listing arguments
The film captures the spirit of... Firstly I In the first place / To begin w ith ,...
The hero / heroine / villain is... Secondly I A second area to consider is...
I felt I thought it was... Another point to remember is...
I was impressed by... Finally,... 5
What struck me most was... In conclusion,...
What I liked most / didn't like was... Last but not least,...
The plot was gripping.
The characters were very convincing / very well drawn. Evaluating ideas, dismissing contrary
On reflection, I think it was...
arguments
It struck me as being...
I think it is true that...
What I didn't understand was how...
I totally disagree / agree with the point that...
In spite of these few criticisms, I think...
It is questionable whether...
I would have no hesitation in recommending...
I am sure / 1 doubt whether...
It is true that... On the other hand,...
Expressing and supporting opinions
While nobody can deny th a t..., I would like to point out that...
I believe / do not believe that... (because) ...
I agree that... However,...
Personally I feel that...
Although it is true that, we must remember that...
Let me explain why.
It could be argued that... However, I would like to point out that...
In my o pin io n ,...
Despite all the arguments, I still feel that...
Just consider...
Notwithstanding the claim th a t..., I would argue that...
As I see i t , ...
It may be true th a t..., but all too often...
The reason is...
In no way can I agree that...
It seems to me that...
Surely it is completely unacceptable that...
This is because...
I would argue that for the following reasons...
Persuading
I feel very strongly that...
I would urge you to consider...
I am convinced that...
I am sure you will agree that...
I am of the opinion that...
Surely you must agree that...
I am very much in favour of / against...
I would urge you very strongly to...
I am completely opposed to...
When you hear the arguments, I am sure you will agree that...
The reasons why I believe that... are as follows.
Evaluating
Opening phrases
I was extremely impressed by...
People (sometimes) claim that... but I feel that...
I was rather disappointed by...
It is often said / argued that... However, it seems to me that...
The problem could easily be solved if...
It is a fact that...
I would like to praise the...
Over the past few months / years, it seems that...
Another area for complaint is...
Recently, we have all become concerned that...
My overall impression was that...
Nowadays, we are all realising that...
I am sure that visitors / readers / holidaymakers will thoroughly
In the past, people used to..., but now...
enjoy...
These days, it seems that...
While some people will love..., others may feel less happy.
A major problem is that...
I was less happy with...
Making recommendations Describing characters / personalities
I recommend that we... He tends to be...
I propose that we... She can be...
We should also... He is inclined to be...
I believe that we should... She appears / seems to be...
We could...
If we were to ..., we could... Hobbies and interests
I suggest we... We would then be able to... He is crazy about... -ing.
She loves... -ing.
Summarising His greatest love is...
All in all, I think that... What she loves most in life is...
To sum up, I believe that... He spends all his time... -ing.
In conclusion, the facts suggest that...

Speaking..........................
Giving personal information As I was saying...
i

I'm speaking English for my own satisfaction / my job / in order I forgot to mention...
to improve my employment prospects. I'm of the opinion that...
I always loved (the sea). To my mind...
I'd love to visit places untouched by man. To my way of thinking...
However, there's no place like home. I am convinced that...
That's a big question! I am inclined to believe that...
I'm keen on... Don't get me wrong but shouldn't we... ?
I haven't given it much thought until now. Judging by... they must be...
... is a separate issue.
Describing pictures Moving on to...
What strikes me about the first picture is the fact that... I couldn't agree more.
This picture reminds me of... I agree up to a point.
Judging from the photograph, the children... I think I see what you mean, but...
The man appears to be... I'm in two minds about it. / I'm ambivalent about...
From what we can see here, he must... That's true in a way, I suppose, but...
There are many similarities... I don't feel convinced...
Both pictures depict... That's one way of looking at it. On the other hand...
Both pictures are quite similar in that they show... It brings us to the question / idea / problem o f ...
When you give it a closer look it reveals... Perhaps we should put... first? What do you think?
The first picture... whereas the other picture... A strong point in favour of... is that...
Another important difference is... What do you think should go next?
Picture... doesn't show... as clearly as... Are you happy with this order then?
Picture... attempts to... but I think picture... does this more Do you go along with that?
effectively...
All the pictures are interesting, but... gives a stronger idea of... Expressing and justifying opinions,
It's d ifficu lt to tell from a photograph but this picture could agreeing and / or disagreeing
have been taken in... Yes, I completely agree.
I m ight be wrong, but I'd say that this picture... Yes, that's what I think too.
I would imagine / guess that this picture comes from... Do you really think so?
Picture... is by far the best to show because... That's an interesting idea, but...
To me, picture... is essential for this kind of publication. I'm not sure about that.
I'm surprised there is no picture showing... Just following from what X was saying, I also feel...
A picture of... would get the message across more effectively. While generally agreeing with X, I must say that...
The name for this escapes me at present, but it's for / it's like... Adding to what X has just said, I think...
I can sympathise with what X said but...
Sustaining an interaction One thing X didn't mention is...
It's my belief... Perhaps it should be also emphasised th a t... / it should be
For my part... pointed out that...
As I see it...
 phrasal verb meaning example

break down stop working or functioning The telephone system broke down during the storm.

break in / into enter a building by force [ gong o f robbers broke in to the g o lf club.

break out a) start suddenly \ A fire broke o u t while we were having lunch.
b) escape \ The prisoner broke o u t o f prison two days ago.

break up i bring a relationship to an end They broke up in 1999 and then she m arried Luke.

bring back make somebody remember something That song brought back a very p a in fu l day.

bring out produce or publish something The w riter brought o u t his second novel.

bring up care for and educate a child Caroline brought up four children by herself.

call o f f cancel The m atch was called o f f because o f heavy rain.

carry on continue Even though he was tired, he carried on studying.

come across meet somebody by chance I came across him while I was touring the USA.

come round / around , visit somebody for a short tim e You really m ust come round and see us next year.

come up with find a solution or have a brilliant idea She came up with a great idea for the new ad.

do w ithout succeed in living w ith o u t something I can't understand how they can do w ith o u t TV!

drop out q uit school or a course She dropped o u t o f university after only a year

fa ll out i quarrel w ith somebody Lisa and Dave have fallen o u t again!

fill in i complete a form by w riting inform ation To make an order fill in this form.

get o f f \ a) leave a train, bus, plane Can you tell me where I have to get off?
t b) start a journey I think it's better to get o ff early in the morning.

\ get on / along with like each other and have a good relation She gets on very well with her sister.

i get over overcome a problem and start feeling well I'm sure she will get over the shock she had.

\ get through to I contact somebody by telephone I tried m any times, but I couldn't get through to him.

i give in i adm it you have been defeated The police forced the rebels to give in.

\ give out i distribute Why are you giving ou t these leaflets?

\ give up i stop doing or having something You should give up working and relax a bit more.

go o ff i a) explode The bomb went o ff in the market square.

b) become bad (about food) W hat a terrible smell! The m ilk m ust have gone off.

! go on i continue I don t w ant to go on talking about the same things!

i go out \ stop burning Suddenly the lights went out.

! go out with have a romantic relationship Cindy is going o u t with an Italian boy.

: go over revise or examine carefully Go over the test before you hand it in.

\ hold on : w ait to talk to somebody (on the phone) Can you hold on? Let me see i f Tim is here.

\ keep away i avoid going near somebody or something Keep away from the pier! It's dangerous.

\ keep in s restrain Don't keep your anger in!

! keep on i continue The snow kept on falling for three days.

I keep up with learn about the latest news or events She always keeps up with the latest fashion trends.

live through survive after an unpleasant situation M r Sword has lived through the Second World War.

look after take care o f Laurie, can you look after m y daughter tomorrow?

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phrasal verb meaning example

look forward to w ait for something pleasant I'm looking forward to seeing her ogoin.

look into examine deeply and carefully A special committee will look into the matter.

look out be careful Look o u t! A bee is flying around you.

look up look for inform ation in a reference book \ 1 had to look these words up in the dictionary.

make into change into something or somebody else \ This poem was made into a song after m any years.

make o f f hurry away to escape The pickpockets made o f f on foot.

make out manage to see or hear clearly She could make o u t a person in the darkness.

make up invent a story 1 often make up funny stories fo r m y niece.

make up with become friendly again after an argum ent D on't w orry he'll make up w ith her by tonight.

pick up go and collect someone in a car I'll pick you up a t 8 p.m., OK?

p u t o ff postpone The match will be p u t o ff i f it rains.

p u t on a) gain (usually weight) 1 think he has p u t on about three kilos. It's very cold.
b) wear clothes Why don't you p u t your coat on?

p u t out stop something from burning Excuse me, can you p u t your cigarette out, please?

p u t through connect by telephone Could you p u t me through to the headmaster, please?

p u t up let somebody stay at your home I'm sorry, but 1 can't p u t you up for the night.

run across / into meet somebody by chance I've ju s t run across Dave! He's here for a few days.

run out o f finish a supply o f something The car stopped because it had run o u t o f fuel.

run over a) knock somebody down (with a vehicle) An old lady was run over by a truck yesterday.
b) read something quickly You had better run over your notes again.

set o f f begin a journey What time are you going to set o ff for Madrid?

talk over discuss a problem You should talk your problem over with an expert.

take after look like a member o f your fam ily Your niece really takes after you.

take down w rite something down The secretary quickly took the message down.

take o f f leave the ground and fly (plane) The plane couldn't take o ff due to thick fog.

take up start doing something regularly He decided to take up playing the guitar.

throw o u t/ away get rid o f something you no longer need Why don't you throw o u t / away th a t old sweater?

try on put on clothes to see how they fit Try these trousers on before buying them.

turn down refuse an offer or a proposal 1 think he'll turn your invitation down.

turn down / up reduce / increase (volume or heating) Can you turn the volume o f the radio down / up? \

turn on / o f f start / stop a machine (pressing a button) He didn't w ant to turn the TV on / off.

turn out a) happen in a particular way The p a rty turned o u t very well.
b) prove to be The book turned o u t to be really exciting.

turn up arrive Your friends haven't turned up yet. |

work out find a solution or an answer | The President is trying to work o u t a compromise.

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