Asking and Giving Opinion

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Clarify language used for asking and giving opinion in the context of their use.
• Practice of language used for asking and giving opinion in the context of their use.
• Review of opinion words in the context of their use.

Lead-in

Look at the following picture and answer the questions​

1. What do you know about him? 
2. Is he successful?
3. Is he intelligent and experienced? 

Clarification: Asking and giving opinions

Asking for and giving opinions is something we frequently do in every day. We will need to ask and give opinions in formal situations such as in business  and in informal speaking.

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I think... the most usual and general way of giving your opinion:

I think if you work hard you'll do very well in the exam.

I reckon... a more informal way of giving your opinion:

It'll be cheaper to take the plane, I reckon.

In my opinion/In my view... a more formal way of giving your opinion:

In my view, it was a big mistake not to try to buy the company last year.

It seems to me/All things considered... used for giving your opinion when you have thought carefully about a situation:

It seems to me that John's plans for the website are very convincing.

All things considered, I think we were wise to cancel our flights.

If you ask me..... used for giving an often critical opinion:

If you ask me, both Paul and Simon are being extremely immature.

To be honest/To tell you the truth/To be frank..... a way of giving your opinion when you know that that people may not like what you say:

To tell you the truth/To be honest/To be frank, I thought the show was pretty awful.

Personally.... used for emphasizing that you are giving your own opinion:

Personally, I think you should apologize to your brother.

To my mind/As far as I'm concerned... used for giving your own opinion, when you realize that other people may not agree with you:

To my mind, the way she behaved was inconsiderate.

As far as I'm concerned, tennis is a much more interesting sport than football.

Asking for someone's opinion

It's a good idea to ask someone's opinion before you tell him/her your opinion strongly. Maybe he/she completely disagree with you. Phrases like these help show our desire to hear from others:

• How do you feel about…?
• What's your opinion on…?
• What do you think of…?
• What are your thoughts on…?

Agreeing and disagreeing

Let's suppose a friend says, “I think football is a much more interesting sport than basketball." You might show you agree by giving one of these responses:

So do I

Me too

Definitely

I agree/I completely agree!

You can also give reasons for your agreement:

I completely agree! There is the beauty of the goals scored.

But what if a person says something you disagree with? We can use informal, direct phrases to say we disagree. You might say something like:

I disagree!

I don't agree

Yeah, but… (Yeah, but basketball has simple rules.)

Practice: Asking and giving opinions

Review: Asking and giving opinions