STOP saying 'I think' in English | Learn BETTER ways to sound like a native

Hi guys is teacher Harry and welcome  back to my English lessons where I  

try to help you to get a much better  understanding of the English language.

So that you can have good conversations. You can  do your business English. Write business letters,  

emails, whatever it might be. I'm here to help.

And of course, don't forget to subscribe to my  YouTube channel, and you can make comments below.

Or if you wish, you can listen to the  podcast. Again, I give you more details  

of those a little later on.

So what am I going to talk to you about today?  Well, we're going to look at expressions with  

I think, or other ways to say I think. So  I've got about 10 or 11 of these, I'll go  

down through them as I always do, give them to an  hour give you a quick explanation or not so quick  

of each of them. And if you have any problems  with them later on, you still don't understand,  

come back to me or send a comment. And I  try to give you some more explanations.

So let's start here. They're,

in my opinion.

As far as I'm concerned.

I believe that something. I believe that.

it seems to me or it appears to me. Alright.

I feel that

I assume that.

From my point of view.

If you ask me.

I consider or I consider that.

As far as I can see, or as far  as I can tell. So they both have  

the same meaning. So as far as I  can see, or as far as I can tell.

In my mind, to my mind.

Personally speaking.

And then last of all, little little quirky,  little different, if somebody wants to  

add their two cents worth. Two cents  and the coin cnts cents worth w o r t h,  

and I'll explain that to  you. At the very, very end.

Okay, so some of these are more formal than  others, some of them are less formal. So I'll  

try and give you some indication about those  as we go through them. Okay, so let me start.

For the first one, in my opinion. Well, it's  very obvious when we want to tell somebody  

what we think, or we want to give a  detailed explanation of something,  

we might just say, 'Well, in my opinion...'  So you might want to stress it. So you can  

change the intonation if you want to  be really strong, in my opinion, and  

you emphasise the my. Or if you just want  to make a point or clarify something.

'In my opinion, I think we should do this.' Okay,  

so you want to make it very, very  clear that this is your view.

As far as I'm concerned, so a little bit  more formal, as far as I'm concerned.  

So this could be any type of discussion  you're having in a work environment,  

with your family, with friends, whatever it  might be. As far as I'm concerned means this  

is what you believe. Yeah. So no matter what has  happened, no matter what other people have said,  

This is the view that you have,  and you're going to stick to it.

So as far as I'm concerned, I'm still going to  turn up tomorrow at the time that I usually do.  

And if they tell me different well, then that's  the way it should be. So there might be a dispute  

or disagreement about working schedules  or working times, but nobody has clarified  

it. So you say to your friends, well, as far  as I'm concerned, until I get it in writing,  

once somebody notifies me, well, then I'm  still going to turn up the exact same time.  

And they expect that they will honour their  commitment. So as far as I'm concerned.

If we want to be very strong, because when we say  I think, 'I think' sort of suggests a little bit  

of uncertainty. So if we say I believe that, then  is a really, really strong statement. I believe  

that's something that I fundamentally believe in.  And when I'm trying to help people to prepare for  

job interviews, and I asked them to give  me some indication of what their strengths  

or weaknesses or some point of view, often  they tell me or I think that and I always  

try to get them to say no, no, don't say  I think say I believe, have conviction.  

Conviction means be strong in your view, be  strong in your opinion, what you believe.

I believe that my strengths are  the following bla bla bla bla,  

I believe that my weaknesses are whatever  they might be one or two or some something  

smaller. But when you use I believe, then there's  a little bit more conviction. And you can again,  

as we did in the first example, you can stress  the word believe, I believe, yeah, I believe  

I not anybody else's what I believe is important.

I believe that what the government should  do is this... I believe that everybody has  

the right as they do to self respect. I  believe that everybody's opinion should be  

respected. So I believe no matter  what other people think, I believe.

The next one is a little bit uncertain, it  seems to me or appears to me. So when we use  

words like seems or appear, then it might  not be accurate, it might not be true,  

but to you, that's how it appears to  you. That how... That's how it is,  

it seems. Okay. So it seems and get that. So when  you use it to stress the as it seems to me, or it  

appears to me. So this is your opinion, this is  your view, you've looked at it from every angle,  

you've formed an opinion. So you might  be right, you might be wrong, of course,  

you're entitled to be right or wrong,  you're entitled to give your opinion.

So it seems to me, the best way  to deal with this is as follows.

It appears to me or it would appear  to me that the government have made  

the wrong decision. Or your son or  daughter has made a wrong decision.

So it appears to me that they're only doing  that because somebody else did it. It seems  

to me that it would be better if they did it  another way. So you're voicing your opinion,  

you're not so strong about it. Okay, because  when we use it, it seems or it appears it turns  

it into a little softer. It's a little less  direct here. Because if you want to be direct,  

I believe Yeah, really strong, it seems or  it appears is taking some of that strength  

out of it. And it's, it's softening your  approach. It appears to me, it seems to me.

Okay, next, I feel that. And when we use this,  I feel that or I have a feeling that then this  

is expressing a real personal opinion  is something that you feel personally,  

inside. Yeah, I feel. Yeah. So not  everybody will feel the same way.

But I feel, I feel it's important  for me to voice my opinion. I feel  

important for me to tell people when I  believe they are wrong. Yeah, that's my view.  

It might not be everybody's view. But it's the  way that I feel. So I feel or I have the feeling  

that... Okay, so these are your thoughts. And it's  a little bit more emotional, you're expressing  

your emotions a little bit stronger when you use  that word feel because feeling is about emotions.

I feel that you don't listen to me,  I feel that you don't appreciate me,  

I have the feeling that you don't  appreciate my point of view. So  

here, you're just emphasising your emotional  side your personal views inside. Okay.

Next is I assume that. Okay, then when we assume  something, it's, we believe, or the speaker,  

whoever's using it believes that there's  perhaps a certain amount of guarantee that  

whatever is happening is correct. Okay. So when  you say I assume that you might not be 100%,  

certain, you might not be 100% absolutely  certain, but there's a belief that  

something is going to happen,  or something is correct.

So I assume that they are going to give  us a holiday on Monday because we worked  

the previous bank holiday. So you're making an  assumption, it hasn't been confirmed to you. But  

this is what they did the previous year, or this  is the action that they've taken previously. So  

it's a good reason to believe that this is  what they'll do this time. So a few weeks ago,  

you had to work on a bank holiday Monday, and  you weren't given any extra holidays. But you  

believe that this Monday, because the work has  been done, that they will announce some time that  

you have the day as a holiday in lieu or in place  of the day that you work. So I assume that okay.

Or if we're talking about  the current pandemic problem,  

I assume that when everybody is vaccinated or  people, as many people as possible are vaccinated,  

then the government will lift certain  restrictions and will allow people to  

travel or move around more freely, it hasn't  been guaranteed and nobody has stated it  

categorically. But you can assume that based on  certain things that have happened, your beliefs,  

your views, your thoughts, your intellect, the  way that you have studied it, so I assume that.

Next from my point of view. Okay. So again,  here we're making it very personal. From  

my point of view, again, it may not be your  point of view or your colleagues point of  

view or your family, whoever it might be, but  from my point of view, it is important now.

So from my point of view, it is important  that you respect what your parents want,  

if they want you home before midnight,  then you should respect that.

From my point of view, if they  want you to study for a few hours  

after school and put away your mobile phone,  then again, you should respect that. But it's  

from my point of view, not everybody would  share the same opinion or the same view.

Next, a little more informal, if you ask me.  And again, here, depending on how you put the  

stress away, put the intonation you can make it  more aggressive or stronger, or just more even.  

Okay, so if you ask me that, I think  the world is crazy. Yeah. If you ask me,  

so just, that's my opinion. But you who's  going to care about what I say if you ask me,  

so you shrug the shoulders and your body language  would indicate that you don't really care whether  

people believe you or not. But if you ask me  when maybe people will not ask you, though,  

and this is usually when we use it as expression,  it's If you ask me, because there's a belief that  

they're not going to ask you. Okay, but if you  want to put more stress on it, 'If you ask me,  

I really think we've made a serious mistake  here. What we should have done is this.'

So if you're talking about your favourite  football team, as we like to talk about football,  

and they've, they've just sold their best player,  and you're not quite sure how they're going to  

replace them? Or are they going to replace them  at all? And they say, Well, if you ask me, I think  

the owner of the club has made a serious mistake,  who's going to score all the goals that they don't  

buy a player of a similar stature? What are  we going to do? We're going to struggle next  

season. So if you asked me, that was a seriously  bad mistake, a serious? wrong move? Okay, so if  

you ask me, so is the owner of the club counter to  ask you? Of course not. Is he going to bring you  

on sale? Hi, Harry, you know, what do you think  about this? I'm going to sell the best player?  

No, he's not going to do that. Because he doesn't  even know that I exist. But if you ask me. And  

if he did go to the trouble of asking me, I  certainly would tell him that it's a big mistake.

Next, a little bit more formal, I consider. Yeah,  

I consider that to be rather insulting. I consider  that to be inappropriate at this particular time.

So a teacher might say to the children in  the class, so perhaps the older children  

15 or 16 years of age, I consider that  inappropriate language to use in the classroom,  

I consider that inappropriate, an inappropriate  way to address one of your classmates. So you have  

to be respectful. So you've been a little  bit more formal in the way they say it.

I consider this to be the end of the matter. And  this is a way if you want to cut your you've had  

an argument with your kids, or you've had an  argument with your, your colleagues, whoever it  

might be, and you want to draw a line, as we say  underneath it, and move on and say, Okay, look,  

I consider this matter closed, meaning it's over.  Okay, we've, you've said your piece, I've said my  

piece, I've listened to you, you've listened to  me, perhaps we can't reach an agreement, there's  

no compromise. So let's just consider the matter  closed, I consider the matter closed, I'd like you  

to think and consider that the matter is closed.  So end off and as we say, end of the issue.

As far as I can see, or as far as I can tell,  these are both very, very similar. So as far as  

I can see, or as far as I can tell. So  this is us expressing our opinion with  

perhaps some limited information, you know, when  we use the expression, as far as I can see that,  

as far as I can see at the moment is the end of  the room. Or if I go outside, as far as I can see  

is the end of the street. Okay, so And as far as  I can tell, it means based on the information we  

have, which they said may not be the full story,  but based on that information, this is my opinion.

So as far as I can see, I think they're both  in the wrong. He said this, she said that  

they should have listened to each other. As far as  I can tell, they are always arguing. So you know,  

it's not a surprise to me that they've decided  to split up because every time I talk to them,  

or every time I see them, one is complaining  about the other. So as far as I can tell,  

this is a natural way for them to react one is  as bad as the other. So as far as I can see,  

or as far as I can tell, based on some  limited information that you might have.  

So it's a way of you expressing your  opinion, as far as I can see. Well,  

that's it. It's over. As far as I can tell. Yeah,  it's over so we can use them both in the same way.

To my mind, or in my mind, okay, so, to  my mind, so this is how it works out.  

When you think about it to my mind or in  my mind. This is how I would do it. Yeah.

To my mind, I don't think it's the right way to do  it. I think you should perhaps write the letter,  

complete your CV or Look at your CV again,  

and then put it in LinkedIn or ever you wish to  place it and see, two people take an interest,  

okay? So in my mind, to my mind, this is the best  way that you can approach it. Or, in my mind or

To my mind, what you should do is spend a little  bit of time every day, looking through the  

internet, see what positions are vacant, what  positions come up, and then actively go after  

them, send in your CV directly to that company,  send it to the HR department, or try and find  

somebody you know who might work in that company  because everybody knows somebody and see, is there  

an opportunity for you to get ahead of the pack  or get up there that you could be recommended for  

the position. So in my mind, to my mind, this  is what you should do. So this is a way of us  

telling somebody, this is my opinion, this is  what I would do. And again, it's personal to you.

And then the last one is on my list, personally  speaking. So again, here where we are stressing,  

personally speaking, yeah. So I  don't know what other people think.  

And perhaps you don't care what other  people think. But personally speaking,  

usually we follow it with if it was me. Personally  speaking, if it was me, this is what I would do.

Personally speaking, if it was me, then yeah,  I'd finish your course. And then I perhaps  

either get a job for a while and look  to do your masters in two years time,  

or perhaps you might get a job. And then  when you establish yourself in the company,  

they may suggest it and the company may even  pay for it. So there's an opportunity there.  

So personally speaking, give yourself a bit of  time to complete this course, get your results,  

get yourself established, and then start  thinking about masters and other things.  

If you start confusing yourself now and thinking  about the next step, before you've completed your  

thesis before you've completed your third level  education, you're just going to get yourself  

preoccupied and confused. So personally  speaking, this is what I would do. Okay.

And then the very last because I added it at  the beginning, is this quite quirky or unusual  

expression. Your two cents worth. Okay. So when  we use that it's quite old fashioned, because  

many years ago, we would, we would have said your  two peas worth. But now we're talking about euros  

mostly. So we talk about your two cents worth. And  of course, two cents is not worth a lot of money.  

So when somebody says, Do you want to add your two  cents worth or you might say I would like to add  

my two cents worth it means I would like to give  my opinion, it might not be worth much, because  

two cents isn't a lot of money. But nevertheless,  I would still like to give you my opinion.

So the boss is sitting at the top of the table.  He's talked about whatever campaign you're going,  

what's going on or the results or whatever your  real regular meeting is. And he said, okay,  

anybody else wants to add their two cents worth.  So really, probably he might be a little bit  

annoyed or is a little bit frustrated. He just  wants the meeting to end. So he really wants  

anybody else with an opinion. Now's the time to  give it So does anybody else want to give their  

two cents worth? So you might end the meeting  before the answer. Well, excuse me, can I add my  

two cents worth? So you give your opinion and  again, you're not belittling your contribution,  

you're not belittling anybody else's, but we  use that expression to generally mean okay,  

it might not be the most important thing,  it might not be an earth-shattering comment,  

but I would like to add my two cents  worth. Okay. So it's our contribution  

to the thought process. It's our  contribution to the argument.  

It's our contribution to the  debate our two cents worth okay.

So, let me go through those  again with you in my opinion,  

as far as I am concerned, I believe  that it seems to me or it appears to me,  

I feel that or I have the feeling that  I assume that from my point of view,  

if you ask me, I consider as far as I can see, or  as far as I can tell exactly the same To my mind,  

in my mind again, very, very similar.  Personally speaking, and then finally,  

your my two cents' worth, oaky. So all different  ways in which we can or other ways to say I think

so you can practice those.  Some of them, as I said, are  

quite common. Some of them are formal, others  

are informal, but they're all ways in which you  can express your opinions or, or beliefs. Okay,

so as I said at the beginning,  

please remember to subscribe to my  channel. And if you want to listen to

my podcast, my podcast is Speak Better  English so if you want to speak better English  

or you want to learn better English with me then  subscribe to the YouTube channel give my comments  

below or listen to the podcast. And as always, if  you want to contact me well then you can do so on  

www.englishlessonviaskype.com Very happy  to hear your comments. Very happy to get  

some recommendations of something that you're  having a problem with that I can include in  

future podcasts and future videos  on the YouTube channel. Okay,  

well thanks for listening. Thanks  for watching. Join me again soon.