Do you ever feel unsure of how to show that you agree with what someone is saying? After all, it’s not always enough (or appropriate) to simply say “yes”. There are many occasions where you need to show how strongly you agree with someone, or explain why.
In English, there are many different words and phrases that you can use to agree with an affirmative statement.
For example, if you want to show that you share the same opinion in a simple way, you could say:
I agree.
Sure.
Absolutely!
Definitely.
Me too.
Of course.
I also think that.
I feel that way too.
So do I.
When you pay attention to two people talking together in English, you will often hear the person that is listening saying things like “Sure”, “definitely” “absolutely” and “of course”. Using these phrases shows that you are paying attention and encourages the speaker to continue, without interrupting the flow of their story.
If you want to build on what the other person is saying or make a point of your own, you are more likely to say something like, “I agree”, “me too” “I also think that” or “I feel that way too”. Usually the other person will expect you to then say a little bit more, to explain why you agree with them or say more about the topic.
These are very simple phrases, but you can also use slightly more sophisticated terms to show that you strongly agree with someone.
For example:
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
You’ve hit the nail on the head there.
I think you’re totally right about that.
Of course, sometimes you want to politely show that you respect someone’s opinion, but you don’t 100% agree. Perhaps you want to show them that you don’t want to argue with them, but your opinion is slightly different, or you want them to explain their point of view a little bit more.
In these situations, you could say something like:
I don’t doubt you’re right…
You know more about this than me…
I understand what you’re saying…
I see what you mean…
I could be wrong about this…
I don’t disagree…
Then you would follow this with one of the following “but” statements (or something similar):
but what about…
but I would have thought that…
but don’t you think…
but in my experience…
but it seems to me…
but it could be that…
but maybe…
but isn’t…
but I still think…
So, for example, you might say:
I don’t doubt you’re right, but what about if we changed the schedule around? Could that work?
I don’t disagree that Sarah was rude to you, but maybe she was just stressed about the presentation.
I understand what you’re saying, but I would have thought we could bring dictionaries to the exam.
I could be wrong about this, but isn’t Paris the capital of France?
You know more about this than me, but in my experience, the shops usually close at 4pm on Sundays.
I see what you mean, but don’t you think their first album was better?
I understand what you’re saying, but I still think I will take a taxi in case I get lost.
These kinds of phrases make sure that you always sound polite, even when you don’t think in quite the same way as the other person. They can help you to move the conversation along and make it more interesting, too!
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