SPEAKING , B2-C2 PART 1

SPEAKING , B2-C2

Accepting facts

It's common knowledge that...

It's a fact (that)..

Anyone will tell you..

Everybody knows that...

It's a well-established fact that

Few people would deny that..

It's no secret that...

I think we can all accept / agree that..

It is generally assumed that...

It has been scientifically proven that..

Advice and Suggestions

I reckon you should stop now

Why don't you stop now?

How about stopping now?

If I were you, I'd stop now.

I suggest you stop now

You'd (really) better stop right now.

I would strongly advise you to stop

My advice would be to stop now

It might be a good idea to stop

You might try stopping

Agreeing With People

I'm with you on that one.

I couldn't agree more.

Yes, absolutely.

I'd go along with that.

You've got a point there.

Hear, hear !

I think so too.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Great minds think alike.

You took the words right out of my mouth

Apologizing

Sorry.

I'm (so / very / terribly) sorry.

Ever so sorry.

How stupid / careless / thoughtless of me.

Pardon (me)

That's my fault.

Sorry. It was all my fault.

Please excuse my (ignorance)

Please don't be mad at me.

Please accept our (sincerest) apologies.

Asking about future plans

What are you doing tomorrow?

Got any plans for tomorrow?

What's your plan for tomorrow?

Are you doing anything tomorrow?

What's on the cards for tomorrow?

Busy tomorrow?

Have you got anything on tomorrow?

Have you got anything planned for tomorrow

What's happening tomorrow?

How's tomorrow looking?

Asking for approval

Do you think it's all right to do it?

What do you think about (me doing that)?

Do you think / reckon I ought to (do it)?

What would you say if I (did it)?

Would you approve of (doing something)?

What is your attitude to the idea of...

Are you in favour of (me doing something)?

You are in favour of ... aren't you?

Do you think anyone would mind if I...

Would it be really awful if I...

Asking for help

Can you give me a hand with this?

Could you help me for a second?

Can I ask a favour?

I wonder if you could help me with this?

I could do with some help, please.

I can't manage. Can you help?

Give me a hand with this, will you?

Lend me a hand with this, will you?

Could you spare a moment?

I need some help, please.

Asking people to wait

Hang on a moment / a mo.

Give us a second.

Half a moment / a mo.

I'll be right with you.

Sorry, I'm a bit tied up right now.

Wait and see.

You'll just have to be patient.

Give me a chance.

Don't be so impatient.

We wish to apologise for the delay to..

Asking somebody's opinion

What do you think of...?

What do you think about...?

How d'you feel (about...)?

What d'you reckon (about...)?

What's your opinion of...?

(What do think about) that?

What are your views on...?

Where do you stand (on...)?

What would you say to... / if we...?

Are you aware of.....?

Attitude to the future

I'm (really / so) looking forward to..

I can't wait until...

I'm counting the days till...

Roll on...

I've set my heart on...

I'm saving up to...

Sooner or later I'll get round to...

One day, I'm going to have to...

I'm trying to put off... as long as I can

I'm (really) dreading...

Avoiding giving information

No comment.

I'm not at liberty to say.

Wait and see.

Let me get back to you.

I'm sorry, that's confidential.

(Sorry) That's personal.

I'd rather not talk about it.

Mind your own business.

Never you mind.

I'll tell you when you're older.

Bad people

A crook

A villain

A scum bag

An evil witch

A heartless bastard

A nasty piece of work

A psycho / psychopath

A totally ruthless (person)

A creep

A two-faced cow

Being An Expert in English

He knows all about photography.

He's a camera expert.

He's an expert on digital cameras.

There's nothing he doesn't know about X

He knows photography inside out.

You wouldn't believe what he knows about X

He's a walking encyclopaedia of X

Photography's his subject.

He knows it from A - Z.

He's an authority on digital cameras.

Being Lucky

t's a good thing (that)..

It's just as well...

Fortunately, / Luckily,

As luck would have it...

That was a stroke of luck.

It's lucky...

It's very/most fortunate (that)...

That was a close thing / near miss

It must be your lucky day!

You lucky thing! / You jammy bastard!

Being old

old and wise

over the hill

past it

pushing ninety

in her nineties

a pensioner / OAP / senior citizen

getting a bit long in the tooth

in my twilight years / second childhood

losing her marbles / going senile

an old codger / an old biddy

Being poor

He's short of cash / hard-up

She's got cash-flow problems

They were destitute

He's on the bread line

She's in debt / overdrawn / bankrupt

He's doing a minimum-wage job

Low-income families

She's on the dole

Below the poverty line

Those less fortunate than ourselves

Being relieved

Phew!

Thank God (for that)!

What a relief!

I'm so relieved to hear that.

You had me worried (there / for a moment).

That's a weight off my mind.

You've no idea what a relief it is to hear

That's one less thing to worry about.

What a stroke of luck!

(Oh well.) All's well that ends well!

Being rich

A wealthy person

A comfortably-off person

High-earning / Top-earning executives

She's well-off / well-heeled

I'm not short of a bob or two

He's rolling in it

They're filthy rich

They're a bit nouveau-riche

A millionaire friend of mine...

Fat cats

Being sure / certain

I'm quite sure...

I'm absolutely positive...

I'm fairly / quite certain...

It must be right.

I know...

It's definitely...

You can be sure...

I've no doubt at all that...

I'm a hundred percent certain that...

I'm (utterly) convinced...

Being worried

I'm (so) worried about..

I'm afraid...

I can't help thinking...

I can't stop thinking about it.

I've been worried sick about...

It's been keeping me awake at night.

I'm scared stiff / to death that...

I'm really nervous.

I've got butterflies in my stomach.

I'm absolutely dreading..

Boring!

How boring / tedious / dull !

What a bore!

It bores me to tears.

It leaves me cold.

It does nothing for me.

It's as dull as ditch-water.

I can't see what all the fuss is about.

It's as interesting as watching paint dry

I'm afraid I don't share your enthusiasm..

I can't say that I find it interesting.

Changing Your Mind

(Actually,) I've changed my mind.

On second thoughts...

Come to think of it...

I've had a change of heart.

Hang on a minute / a second.

I've had a bit of a rethink.

Did I really say that?

What was I thinking?

On reflection...

After further consideration...

Cheering People Up

Cheer up! / Chin up!

Smile!

It's not the end of the world.

Worse things happen at sea.

Look on the bright side........

Every cloud (has a silver lining).

Practice makes perfect.

There are plenty more fish in the sea.

Lighten up!

There's no use crying over spilt milk.

Complaining about hypocrisy

Look who's talking!

You can talk!

That's rich, coming from you!

That's the pot calling the kettle black.

I seem to remember, not so long ago...

Yeah, and you're so much better

And you're so squeaky clean.

Take a look in the mirror sometime.

People in glass houses...

Says Mr. Perfect.