DO NOT SAY 'I think...' - say THIS instead - 21 more advanced alternative phrases

(mellow music)

- Hello, everyone and welcome back to English with Lucy.

Today I am going to give you

21 advanced alternatives for I think.

I think that I think is very boring,

overused, and it's just repetitive.

In debates, in English classes, in conversation,

we are always asked to give our opinion.

And more often than not,

I hear my students saying,

"I think," blah, blah, blah, blah,

"I think," blah, blah, blah, blah

"I don't think," blah, blah, blah, blah.

If you really want to show that you have an incredible,

and profound, and advanced vocabulary,

then you need to find some other ways of saying I think so.

I have got 21 advanced alternatives,

ranging from formal to informal.

So this video is really going to help you

with your vocabulary,

but if you want to improve your listening skills

and your pronunciation skills even further,

then I highly recommend the special method

of reading an actual book

whilst listening to the audiobook version on Audible.

It might sound complicated, but it's not,

and it has helped so many of my English students.

What you have to do is take a book

that you have already read in English,

or a book that you would like to read in English,

I've got loads of recommendations down below

in the description box, and read it whilst listening

to the audiobook version on Audible.

So as you are reading the words,

you are also hearing the words.

Reading alone will not help you with your pronunciation.

English is not a strictly phonetic language,

the way a word is spelt or written in English

might not give you any indication

as to how it is pronounced.

If you listen to a word as you read it,

your brain will start making connections,

and the next time you see that word,

you'll know exactly how it's meant to sound,

how it's pronounced, and the next time you hear that word,

you'll know exactly how it's spelt, or written.

It is such an effective method,

and the best part is you can get one free audiobook

as a 30-day free trial on Audible,

all you've got to do is click on the link

in the description box, and sign up.

Right, let's get started with the lesson.

Number one is an informal one, it's, "I'm not going to lie,"

or, "I'm not gonna lie,"

I've got a video on wanna and gonna,

it's a very helpful one actually, "I'm not gonna lie,"

sometimes just shortened down to, "Not Gonna Lie,"

or abbreviated to N-G-L.

So if we're texting, NGL, and then our opinion.

An example, "I'm not going to lie,

"I was pretty insulted to not be invited

"to my ex-boyfriend's wedding."

"I'm not going to lie, I was pretty insulted

"to not be invited to my ex-boyfriend's wedding."

Number two is, "In all honesty, in all honesty."

This is very commonly used nowadays,

and I would say it's leaning towards informal.

An example, "In all honesty, I had every right to be there.

"In all honesty, I had every right to be there."

Number three is, "In my view, in my view,"

and this one is slightly more formal, actually.

Another example, "In my view, I should have been invited,

"so it was totally fair for me to turn up on the day.

"In my view, I should have been invited,

"so it was totally fair for me to turn up on the day."

A lot of these examples will use should have,

would have, and could have.

I've recently made a video about shoulda, woulda and coulda,

so I've shared that link in the description box

and up here on a card. (laughs)

Number four is, "If you ask me, if you ask me."

An example, "If you ask me,

"the church service was wonderful,

"but it was a shame I have to stand at the back.

"If you ask me, the church service was wonderful,

"but it was a shame I had stand at the back."

Number five is, "As far as I can tell,

"as far as I can tell."

These past two have been fairly neutral,

neither informal nor formal, as far as I can tell.

An example, "As far as I can tell,

"the bride wasn't really expecting me.

"As far as I can tell,

"the bride wasn't really expecting me."

Number six is, "To my mind, to my mind,"

and this just means to me,

but we're talking about our brain rather than ourselves,

and it is more formal.

An example, "To my mind,

"she should have been happier to see me

"and receive my support.

"To my mind, she should have been happy to see me

"and receive my support."

Number seven, again, slightly more formal,

"As far as I'm concerned, as far as I'm concerned."

An example, "As far as I'm concerned,

"she totally overreacted and shouldn't have cried.

"As far as I'm concerned, she totally overreacted

"and shouldn't have cried."

Again, more info on should have, would have, and could have,

in the description box, it's a really important lesson.

Number eight, "The way I see things,"

or, "the way I see it," you can use either/or.

An example, "The way I see things,

"I made the family photographs a lot more interesting.

"The way I see things,

"I made the family photographs a lot more interesting."

An alternative, "As I see things," or, "as I see it."

An example, "As I see it,

"they obviously didn't take me into consideration

"when drawing up the seating plans.

"As I see it, they obviously didn't take me

"into consideration when drawing up the seating plans."

Now, you might have noticed

there's a bit of a story going on through the examples,

which I think is quite fun, (laughs)

but you might need a little bit more explanation

about British weddings, we always have a seating plan.

So we'll have a list of all the table names for the meal

and it's called the seating plan,

and everyone is put in a certain spot,

and we have our name on the table.

And we use drawing up

because of the phrasal verb to draw up,

normally a plan, or a document,

it means to write and prepare a document or plan.

Now, number 10 is, "It seems to me that,

"it seems to me that."

Quite a neutral one, maybe leaning on formal.

An example, "It seems to me that everyone overreacted

"when I tried to sit at the top table.

"It seems to me that everyone overreacted

"when I tried to sit at the top table."

Now, another bit of info for you on British weddings,

there is often a top table.

Most weddings have round tables

and all the guests will sit on round tables,

but there is a big long table, a bit higher up,

overlooking all of the other guests

where the bride, the groom, two people getting married,

and their families, sit, so it's the most important people

and the bride's men, and the groomsmen as well.

Now 11, "I believe, I believe."

This is just a really good alternative for I think,

if you're (snaps fingers) in a pinch,

and you want to say I think

and you don't know what else to say, just say, "I believe."

An example, "I believe

"they should have just made space for me in the first place.

"I believe that they should have just made space for me

"in the first place."

Number 12 is, "I would say,"

or shortened down to, "I'd say, I'd say."

An example, "I'd say the food was very good,

"but it was a shame I had to share it with my neighbour.

"I'd say the food was very good,

"but it was a shame I had to share it with my neighbour."

Now, you might know the word neighbour

as someone who lives next to you,

if you are sitting at a table

and you might also say the word neighbour.

Your teacher might say it when you're sitting at a desk,

"Swap your answers with your neighbours,

"swap your answers with the person next to you."

Number 13, "I consider, I consider,"

normally followed by something then to be,

"I consider something to be."

An example, "I consider it to be very rude

"that I was forced to sit down

"when I stood up to make a speech.

"I consider it to be very rude that I was forced to sit down

"when I stood up to make a speech."

Number 14 is, "To me, to me,"

just another way of saying, "in my opinion."

An example, "To me, no one knows my ex better than I do,

"so I should have been able to tell

"all of his funny stories.

"To me, no one knows my ex better than I do,

"so I should have been able to tell

"all of his funny stories."

Oh my God, can you imagine,

can you imagine if this happened at your wedding?

My wedding is coming up,

I don't think we have any crazy exes, yet,

what do I mean by yet? (laughs)

Carry on, Luce, carry on.

Number 15 is, "From my point of view,

"from my point of view."

This again is slightly more formal,

but can be used in both informal and formal situations.

An example, "From my point of view,

"the first dance was cringeworthy,

"so I did everyone a favour by joining in.

"From my point of view, the first dance was cringeworthy,

"so I did everyone a favour by joining in."

part of our wedding culture

is to have a first dance together and everyone watches,

and then after that, everyone can join in,

but after they have finished, or if they have said,

"Come in," you do not butt in the first chance.

Number 16 is, "It is my view that,"

or "it is my belief that," both are more or less the same.

An example, "It is my view

"that the open bar made everything worse.

"It is my view that the open bar made everything worse."

Now, a bit of extra info, an open bar

is something that you really hope

is at a wedding that you're attending.

It's when the bar is already paid for,

you don't have to pay anything at that bar.

I'd say it's probably 30/70 at weddings in the U.K.,

you're most likely to have an open bar,

but it just depends on the couple's financial situation.

It's typical for the parents of the bride,

of the lady getting married, to pay for the wedding,

but if they're not in a good financial situation,

or maybe the bride and groom are funding it themselves,

they might not be in a position to offer an open bar.

Number 17 is a very slang one, it's, "I reckon, I reckon."

And I think that this is a very British one.

If any Americans are watching,

can you let me know, do you use reckon,

I reckon, I think, in your dialect? (chuckles)

An example, "I reckon the sixth gin and tonic

"tipped me over the edge.

"I reckon the sixth gin and tonic tipped me over the edge."

To tip someone over the edge

is to make someone either really sad, or a bit crazy,

or to lose the plot to be crazy.

So I might have been tipsy or merry,

up until the sixth gin and tonic,

and then it was that sixth one

that tipped me over the edge and made me downright crazy.

Number 18 is, "I honestly believe that,

"I honestly believe that."

An example, "I honestly believe that

"if I hadn't started cutting the cake, no one would have.

"I honestly believe that if I hadn't started

"cutting the cake, no one would have."

In your culture, does the bride and groom

have the first cut of the wedding cake together?

Quite an important part of the day. (chuckles)

19 is, "Honestly speaking, honestly speaking,"

and this one is informal.

An example, "Honestly speaking,

"I probably shouldn't have thrown my slice at the bride.

"Honestly speaking,

"I probably shouldn't have thrown my slice at the bride."

Number 20 is, "I feel that, I feel,"

and that's another good one-word alternative for think,

just like believe, I feel, I think, I believe.

An example, "I feel that my ex

"could have found a more welcoming bride

"with a better sense of humour.

"I feel that my ex could have found a more welcoming bride

"with a better sense of humour."

And number 21, the last one, this is, again, quite neutral,

it's, "Personally speaking, personally speaking."

An example, "Personally speaking,

"calling the police was a bit OTT.

"Personally speaking, calling the place was a bit OTT."

OTT means Over The Top, too much,

Over The Top, we often shorten it down to OTT.

Right, that is it for today's lesson.

This is a new format, it just came to me

whilst I was looking at all of these words and phrases,

and I just thought it would be really, really fun

if we could follow a ridiculous story

through all of the examples.

Did you enjoy it, did it make you stay to the end?

Well, if you're watching this, it did,

let me know your feedback in the description box.

I'd happily do it again

because I had a lot of fun writing it, (gasps)

especially though that my wedding is coming up this year.

Don't forget to check out Audible,

you can claim your free audio book

by clicking on the link in the description box,

and don't forget to connect with me

on all of my social media.

I've got my Facebook, my Instagram, my Twitter,

and my personal channel, Lucy Bella Earl,

where I talk about everything that isn't related to English.

I will see you soon for another lesson, mwah.

(smooth music)