Provide your Opinion verbs of opinion are usually

Provide your Opinion verbs of opinion are usually in the simple form, while actions are in the continuous. For example: I think he’s a wonderful person [opinion] I’m thinking about my next holiday [action right now] 1)I think / reckon that President Obama is a poor leader. 2)I believe he’s the best player of all time. 3)I don’t think he’ll do that. 4)Sorry, but I feel it’s not the right time to do this. 5)I don’t believe that’s true. 6)In my opinion, this just isn’t right.

Speculating 1)He seems to be more tired than usual. 2)She can’t be American – I think she’s Australian with that hat! 3)He’s probably in his 30’s. He can’t be older. 4)She must be late – her car is not here yet. Talking About Facts Paris has a population of 8 million people. President Obushma is the most popular president since the 1980’s. Victoria is located in southern Australia.

Common phrases Formal ways of expressing your opinion characteristic of written English: In my opinion In my view From my point of view Less formal equivalents more characteristic of spoken English: To my mind I feel

Example How acceptable is it for wild animals to be kept in zoos? I believe that it is quite unacceptable for animals to be kept in zoos. It seems to me that when they are confined to a cage they never have enough room to move around. I would argue that it is kinder to allow a rare animal to die naturally in

Clarying an opinion It may sometimes be necessary to explain a thought in greater detail. Useful linking expressions for doing this include: By this I mean… Here I'm referring to… To be more precise… That is to say…

Example: By spending money on confining wild animals to zoos, we are wasting resources. By this I mean there are more urgent economic problems to deal with: hospitals and schools should be our first priority.

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