Every day we express our opinions. You will certainly be asked questions that invite you to say whether you agree or disagree with an issue in our daily life. How can you say “Yes” or “No” in different ways? How can you give your opinion properly? Now we are going to learn to express agreement and disagreement.

If we agree strongly with an opinion, we can use these sentences:

A. How to Agree Strongly with an Opinion.  

1. I couldn't agree more!

2. Absolutely! / Exactly! / Definitely!

3. I agree with your point.

4. I'd go along with you there. 

5. I'm with you on that. 

6. That's just what I was thinking. 

7. That's a good point. 

8. That's just how I see it.

9. That's exactly my opinion.

If we agree with an opinion partly, we can use the following patterns:

B. How to Half Agree with an Opinion.  

1. Yes, perhaps, however ... 

2. Well, yes, but ... 

3. Yes, in a way, however ... 

4. Hmm, possibly, but ... 

5. Yes, I agree up to a point, however ... 

6. Well, you have a point there, but ... 

7. There's something there, I suppose, however. 

8. I guess you could be right, but ... 

9. Yes, I suppose so, however ... 

10. That's worth thinking about, but ...

We need to be very polite when disagreeing with someone we don’t know quite well. If we disagree with an opinion want to disagree politely, we can use the following sentences:

C. How to Disagree Politely with an Opinion.   

1. I am not so sure.

2. Do you think so? 

3. Well, it depends.

4. I'm not so certain. 

5. Well, I don't know. 

6. Well, I'm not so sure about that. 

7. I'm inclined to disagree with that. 

8. No, I don't think so.

With someone you know very well, you can disagree more directly. If we disagree strongly with an opinion, we can use the following sentences:

D. How to Disagree Strongly with an Opinion.   

1. I disagree with your idea. 

2. I'm afraid I don't agree. 

3. I'm afraid your idea is wrong. 

4. I can't agree with you. 

5. I couldn't accept that for a minute. 

6. You can't actually mean that. 

7. I wouldn't go along with you there. 

8. You can't be serious about that. 

9. You must be joking. 

10. It's possible you are mistaken about that.

While agreeing and disagreeing, sometimes we also state our opinions. We can use the following 

How to state our opinion  

In my opinion... 

The way I see it... 

If you want my honest opinion.... 

According to Lisa... 

As far as I'm concerned... 

If you ask me...

Besides, we can also ask for an opinion, for example:

How to ask for an opinion  

What are your thoughts on all of this? 

How do you feel about that? 

Do you have anything to say about this? 

What do you think? 

Do you agree? 

Wouldn't you say?

Let’s see some examples:

Example 1 

A: Don't you agree that all the thieves should be punished severely?

你不认为小偷应该被严惩吗？

B: I couldn't agree more. In that case, there wouldn't be so much stealing.

我完全同意。那样的话，偷窃就会少了。

A: Definitely.

完全正确。

Example 2

A: Children should be allowed to watch TV every night. They can learn a lot .Don't you think so?

应该允许孩子们每天晚上看电视，他们能尝到好多东西。你说呢？

 B:I wish I could agree with you, but children are watching too much now. It's bad for their eyes.

但愿我也能这么想，但是现在孩子们看得太多了。这对他们的眼睛没有好处。

Example 3

A: Linda is a trustworthy friend of mine.

琳达是我可以信赖的朋友。

B: I can't agree. She backbites you all the time.

我可不那么认为.她总在背后说你的坏话.

 A:I can't believe it!

我不相信.

Let’s look at the basic patterns in this unit.

Basic Patterns  基本句型

You may show your agreement like this:

I think so.

Sounds good.

Absolutely! /Exactly! /Definitely!

You said it. /You got it, / You bet.

You are (absolutely/quite) right.

I couldn't agree more!

I (totally/entirely) agree with you.

I feel (exactly) the same (way).

That's exactly my opinion.

You have a great point.

Yes, perhaps/ possibly.

Probably what you've said is true.

I guess you could be right.

Maybe you're right.

You may have a point here.

I agree up to a point.

I agree in principle, but...

You may show your disagreement like this:

Nonsense. /Are you kidding? 

You must be joking.

I wouldn't say that.

I (really) don't/can't agree.

No, I don't think so. ,

I disagree with you (entirely).

That's not the way I see it,

I wouldn't go along with you there/on that issue.

I'm afraid I'm not entirely with you here,

I'm afraid I don't share your opinion

I have a different opinion.