How to give your opinions?

When we give our opinion, we say what we think, feel or believe about something or somebody.

Below are some phrases that you can use to help express opinions. Some of these phrases are more appropiate for written English such as giving your opinion in an essay whereas some can also be used in spoken English.

How to give your opinion in English?

Personal Point of View

We use these words and phrases to express a personal point of view:

"In my experience..."

"As far as I´m concerned ..."

"I´m absolutely convinced ..."

"Speaking for myself ..."

"In my opinion ..."

"Personally, I think ..."

"I´d say that ..."

"I´d suggest that ..."

"I´d like to point out that ..."

"I believe that ..."

"What I mean is ..."

"It´s obvious to me ..."

There are at least 3 ways to give a personal opinion.

Using stative verbs in the continuous form

Angelic Dan is being bad today! But 'bad' Dan has some 'good' tips for using state verbs in the continuous form.

Watch the video and complete the activity

B2 Grammar: Past tenses

Past simple, past continuous and used to

The past simple is used for:

• actions or events in the past: I visited Egypt last year.
• actions or events which happened one after another: I saw the Pyramids, then I went round the Cairo Museum and later I went to a traditional restaurant.
• things which happened for a long time in the past: She lived in Zurich for ten years from 1992 to 2002.

The past continuous is used for:

• an activity which started before and continued until an event in the past: He was driving to work when his car broke down (the activity of driving was interrupted by the problem with the car).

                                He was driving to work   X

                                --------------------------→  ↑

                                                         The car broke down

• an activity which started before and continued after an event in the past: I was watching television when the news was announced (and I continued to watch television afterwards).

                                 I was watching television

                                 -----------------------------→

                                                    ↑

                                 the news was announced

Tattoos

Love them or hate them, tattoos are really popular nowadays in the UK. What do you think of tattoos?

In Britain, tattoos used to be seen mainly on sailors, prisoners and bikers and were considered as a sign of being a rebel. However, now they are popular with all kinds of people and it’s pretty normal to have a tattoo these days.

Which design?

Japanese and Chinese characters, and loved ones' names are among the most popular designs today. Mario, who runs his own tattoo parlour, says ‘I have more women than men customers. Women often prefer smaller designs like stars, flowers, cherubs and men are into much bigger images.’ Many well known Brits have tattoos. Here are some of them:

• David Beckham has a crucifixion scene and his kids’ names on his back. He has a tattoo in Hindi of his wife’s name.
• Victoria Beckham has stars on her back to symbolise the members of her family.
• Robbie Williams has a lion on his right arm, Maori designs on his left arm, a French phrase on his collar bone, the musical notes to ‘all you need is love’ on lower his back, ‘I love you mother’ on his arms, 2 birds on stomach and many more!
• Kate Moss has a small crown on her shoulder.
• Samantha Cameron, wife of the British Prime Minister, has a dolphin tattooed on her ankle.

Superstitions

Do you get nervous when a black cat walks in front of you? Do you avoid walking under ladders? If you broke a mirror would you expect to get 7 years` bad luck?

If the answer is ´yes´ to any of these question then you are clearly a superstitious person.

Read the article. Next to go task and do the activity.

Superstitions

Superstitions can be defined as, "irrational beliefs, especially with regard to the unknown" (Collins English Dictionary)

They cause us to act in strange ways, believe in odd things and leave us unable to explain the reasons why.

Many superstitions may seem silly, even stupid to us today, but they continue to influence our behaviiour and many people would argue that there are in fact some very good reasons for avoiding black cats and walking around ladders.

Common Superstitions Explained

In most cases, the reasons behind common superstitions can be traced back to medieval or even ancient times. They are quite often even more peculiar than the beliefs they attempt to explain.

Black cats are the source of literally hundreds of unlucky to step on their tails. They even bring bad luck into a house if they sneeze inside!

This unfortunate connection with misfortune dates back to theMiddle Ages when they became associated with witches and were thought to harbour evil spirits.

There are very practical reasons for thinking twice before waling under a ladder, but a more mysterious explanation can be traced back to ancient Egypt. The early Egyptians beleived that the shape of the Pyramids had a special power. It was considered very bad luck to break the ´power´ of this shape and that´s exactly what walking under a ladderwould do!

In Roman times people had the habit of looking at their refelctions in pools of water. Some believed that these  refelctions were in fact ´glimpses of the soul´. Any disruption to the water, such as a stone being thrown into the pool, would bring bad luck to the person looking in. This superstition lives on with the fear of bad luck from breaking a mirror.

Group Superstitions

Certain groups of people involved with dangerous or unpredictable activities tend to be very superstitious indeed.

Actors: There are lost of Do´s and don´ts to be followed backstage in the theatre.

One of the biggest Don´ts concerns the name of Macbeth, one of Shakespeare´s most famous plays, If anyone sasys the name backstage then the cast will have all sorts of unlucky problems and the show will certainly fail. Also, actors never wish each other, ´good luck´ before a performance as it might have the opposite effect. It´s safer to tell an actor heading for  the stage to, ´break a leg´!

Sailors: Long, dangerous journeys on wild and unpredictable oceans have made sailors very aware of lucky and unlucky signs. Bad luck is caused by stepping on board a ship with your left foot, starting a cruise on Friday and throwing stones into the sea. Good luck will follow a ship if there are dolphins swimming nearby or there is a naked woman on board! Think about the figureheads on old sailing boats with a naked woman at the front, calming the seas.

Athletes: The great Michael Jordan wore his old college shorts underneath his Chicago Bulls uniform for an extra bit of good fortune on the court and Tiger Woods favours wearing the colour red on Sundays for similarly superstitious reasons. Amateur golfers can have a successful day on the course if they start their round with odd numbered clubs and don´t use balls with numbers higher than 4! It´s also lucky to set out on a rainy day, but definitely not okay to borrow your partner´s umbrella.

Football players don´t let the side down and have numerous eccentricties of  thir own. West Hams´ ex-player Paolo Di Canio always puts his shin pads on his left leg first. Steven Gerrard ant the Liverpool players like to touch the, ´This is Anfield´ sign in the tunnel on their way to the pitch, but nothing tops Chelsea´s ex-player Eidur Gudjohnsen, who goes to the loo just after the warm up, kisses his shirt twice (for two goals) and says a prayer thanking God for his health and the hearlth of his teammates as he runs onto the field!

Global Superstitions

Finally, here are a few curious beliefs from around the world.

If you don´t cover your bald head it will start raining. - Afghanistan

If you shave your head on a Saturday, you will be in perpetual debt. - Africa

You´ll ´cut off´ fortune if you use scissors on New Year´s Day.- China

You shouldn´t wash your hair the day before an exam. - Russia

If you go to the bathroom in the night with no clothes on, insects will fall on you. - Japan

Task

What do you think of this article

B2 Grammar: Conditionals

Zero, first and second conditionals

Conditional sentences express a condition (If …) and the consequence of the condition.

The consequence can be expressed before or after the condition: If you come to Canada, we can visit Vancouver. We can visit Vancouver if you come to Canada.

Note: If the condition comes first, a comma is used. If the consequence comes first, no comma is used.

Zero conditional

If + present tense, - present tense: If the teacher is late, it sets a bad example to the class.

Zero conditional is used to express:

• Things which are always or generally true: People get annoyed if you shout at them
• Scientific facts: If water boils, it evaporates.

First conditional

If/Unless + present tense, - future tense / modal verb (may, can, should, etc.) / imperative: If you wash the car, it will look much smarter. You can have an ice cream if you behave well. If he phones, tell him I’m in a meeting. I won’t phone you unless it’s urgent. You shouldn’t go swimming unless you think it’s safe.

The first conditional is used to express a future condition the speaker thinks is possible or likely: If I get the job, I’ll buy myself a new car.

Second conditional

If/Unless + past tense, - would/could/might + infinitive: If she wasn’t so busy, she could come to the party. I would go or a walk, if it wasn’t so cold.

The second conditional is used to express a present or future condition which is imaginary, contrary to the facts, impossible or improbable:

If I was as rich as Bil Gates, I wouldn’t work (this is imaginary).

I wouldn’t fly in a helicopter unless I was sure it was completely safe (this is imaginary).

Her English would be better if she came to class more often (contrary to the facts – she doesn’t come to class often enough).

Indirect questions

Indirect questions are questions which you introduce with a short phrase, e.g. Do you know …, Could you tell me …, I wonder …, I’d like to know …

This type of question is used when:

• you are talking to someone you don’t know, or
• you are writing a letter or email.

When you ask an indirect question:

• the order of the words in the question is the same as a normal sentence, e.g.

direct question: How long have you been studying English?

indirect question: Can you tell me how long you have been studying English?

direct question: When can I phone you?

indirect question: I wonder when I can phone you.

• the auxiliary verbs do, does and did are not used to form questions: the question has the same form as a normal sentence, e.g.

direct question: Does the train to Paris leave from this platform?

indirect question: Could you tell me if the train to Paris leaves from this platform?

direct question: Did she speak to the headmaster?

indirect question: Do you know if she spoke to the headmaster?

• use a question mark (?) when the introductory phrase is a question, e.g.

Could you tell me why you haven’t done your homework yet?

• Do not use a question mark (?) when the introductory phrase is not a question, e.g.

I’d like to know how much the course costs.

• Use if or whether to introduce questions where you expect the answer yes or no, e.g.

direct question: Is the university near the city centre?

indirect question: Can you tell me if/whether the university is near the city centre?