Possible Phrases for Conversational Practice

• to order a sequence of arguments

firstly - secondly - finally

to begin/start with - next - lastly

first of all - and also

let me begin by pointing out - and besides

in addition to this

furthermore / moreover

Essentially, the problem is ...

to top it all

basically

besides

above all

what is more

There is one more point ...

I may as well add that ...

More than that ...

One more remark seems reasonable, namely ...

There is one more point to be noted ...

I might as well add that ...

Bearing in mind ...

In this connection one more aspect is interesting to mention ...

• to introduce arguments

Let me come to my first/second/.../next argument

My first/... argument is ...

The first/... reason why we're

prop/opposing this motion is

Wouldn't you have to agree ...? /

Doesn't what you're saying contradict with ...? / What about the ...? / How would you explain, that ... ?

No, thank you, Sir/Madam. 

Declined.

Yes, please. / Go ahead.

Thank you very much, .... ,

I'm going to come to this very point in my second argument in a minute.

I can start by saying ...

I will start by saying (claiming) that ...

To begin with, my point is that ...

• to express one's opinion

In my opinion / view …

To my mind …

It seems to me that … (> tentative)

I feel / think / believe that … (> neutral)

I have the feeling / the impression that …

As I see it, …

I rather think that …

I am sure that …

I am convinced that …(> strong)

certainly / surely / possibly

As for me ...

As concerns ...

As far as I am concerned ...

What I mean to say is ...

I have a reason to believe that ...

I am confirmed in my opinion that ...

My point is that ...

I am all for ... but ...

It is a well-known fact that ...

It means ...

I don't mean to say ...

It is too much to say that ...

I am convinced that ...

This is a convincing argument.

The statement is convincing by itself.

The assertion convincingly represents ...

It seems reasonable to say ...

My (own) point is that ...

One must admit that ...

While I accept that ...

It must be admitted that ...

All I mean to say is that ...

It's too much to say that ...

It is common knowledge that ...

What is missing (lacking) in the statement is that ...

In view of the idea ...

The statement may be confirmed by ...

One can confirm it by further ...

There is no denying the fact that ...

I hold a similar view ...

Much depends on where (when, what, how) ...

I'd like to make it clear ...

It seems reasonable to assume that ...

It will be seen that ...

It's worth considering (appreciating) ...

I'd like to make it clear that ...

What I mean to say is ...

• to express one's agreement

I agree.

I agree completely / entirely.

I think you're quite right.

I think so, too.

I don't think so, either.

That's exactly what I think.

That's just what I was thinking.

Yes, definitively.

That's right.

I quite agree to it.

Quite so. Absolutely correct.

I think, it is right.

That's right. It's O.K.

Exactly. Quite so.

It's correct to say.

I quite agree with you.

I share this viewpoint.

Exactly ... Indeed ...

Exactly. Certainly.

This is the case.

I fully agree to it.

I accept it fully.

Right you are (it is).

I agree to it.

There is no point in disagreeing that ...

There is no point in denying that ...

I see no point at all to disagree that ...

• to express one's disagreement or doubt

It's hardly likely that ...

I don't quite agree here.

I cannot accept your view that …

I cannot share this view.

That seems obvious.

Do you really think so?

I wouldn't say so.

I don't know.

I'm not quite so sure.

although

nevertheless / still

even so

yet

however

I don't think so.

I don't agree with you.

I can't agree, I'm afraid.

That's not how I see it.

I disagree (completely).

I don't agree at all.

I am afraid, you are mistaken here.

It is quite the reverse.

On the contrary.

Just the other way round.

I am afraid, it is wrong.

I don't quite agree to it.

Excuse me, but ... Not at all.

On the contrary. Far from it.

Quite the contrary (the reverse).

You're wrong there, I am afraid.

It's unlikely.

Not at all. Not quite so.

Just the other way round.

The statement does not imply ...

Scientists do not mean/claim ...

It's not correct / It's not right / It's wrong, I am afraid.

Although no conviction serves as a proof ...

I can't but refute it.

The statement must be refuted.

I have a counter-argument that may serve as a refutation.

One can refute it by ...

Although no refutation is offered ...

Not quite so, I am afraid.

I don't think this is just the case.

I dout it. Far from that.

Although no confirmation is available ...

I deny that this is the case.

I deny that the statement is true.

The statement does not imply ...

It can be denied that ...

That doesn't sound convincing enough.

I don't think so.

The definition is inappropriate.

It's hardly likely that ...

One cannot say that ...

You are free to disagree with me but ...

• to give examples

There are many examples for this/for..., for instance.

In fact, you can find many examples for this in real life. Just think of...

And there are similar cases, such as ..., ...

So in this simple example we can clearly see the effect of ...

• to summarize one's arguments

To conclude…

In conclusion…

It follows from this that…

To sum up…

so

therefore

Summarizing the discussion ...

In conclusion I must say ...

Summing up the discussion ...

To summarize the topic ...

In conclusion, I may say ...

To sum up, here are the main points our opponents have not addressed …

We pointed out that …

Our opponents have claimed that …

To recap the main points …

Let’s sum up where we stand in this debate. 

Let me summarize our position in this debate. 

In summary, we want to point out that …

Let’s see which arguments are still standing. 

Let’s take stock of where we are in this debate.

On the whole ... In the long run ...