Prediction/ Speculation

Prediction/ Speculation	Comparison	Conditional	Contrast	Justification	Opinion	Time to think	Opening Expressions	Linking Words	Link & Expand
1)    “I think (believe) that in the future factories in China will meet international standards and certainly the government is working hard to do this.” 2)   “I hope that in the future all people will be able to live in peace as a global village.” It’s possible that…. I can see that… If possible I’d like to see…. we can assume that… maybe… we should plan to… It might be that… probably… I expect that… perhaps… I suppose… it’s quite possible that… I imagine that… It may be / could be that… I guess… It’s quite likely that It’s not very likely that It’s unlikely that I doubt whether …will happen In the long run In the future, I think In years to come By the year By the time we are	1)   “Well compared with Beijing, Nanjing has not developed so fast, but it is more interesting and has more history and culture.” 2)   “The weather in Nanjing is better than Beijing.  It is not so cold in the winter, so more comfortable”. 3)   “Beijing is bigger and more international than Nanjing, but not so scenic”. I think… is preferable to Better than More comfortable than Less useful than I prefer My favourite …is If you compare …with	1)   “If I get my degree at the university, then I will go to work in IT and maybe later start a family”. 2)   “When I get my degree, (then) I will get a job in England.”	1)   “Nanjing is a great place for historical and cultural attractions, but Beijing is more international.” the main difference…     one of the differences…   similarly / likewise…    slightly different.. in contrast / on the other hand…  just a little different… totally different… whereas / while…	1)   “I will finish my education before I do anything else.  It is very important to have the right qualifications and this is best done when you are young.” 2)   “Sports stars should get paid lots of money.  After all, they are representing a whole country and their dedication and special talents should be recognized.” that’s why…   besides…      because…       so…       what I mean is…            you see…   to be honest…            let me explain…  the reason why…	1)   “In my opinion people should work until they are at least 65 years old.” 2)   “I personally think people should have more leisure time”. I believe that…    I feel that…    to my mind…   obviously…     Well, personally speaking…   It seems that…           from my point of view…  as I see it…      I am quite convinced that…    I’m fairly certain that…	Now let me think…  It’s difficult to say exactly, but…    The best way I can answer is…            How shall I put it…     That’s an interesting question.            Let’s put it this way. Mmm, that’s a difficult question. Let me see May I think about that for a moment? How can I put this? How can I best say this? Let me get this right	One of the most important things I did was to… I did a number of important things such as… Last year was an important year because I… Of all things I did…	Because And if Which Although as but also At the moment Even though so with or either	I prefer Both in fact While I am studying I think As well as On top of that At first I am used to it And as they are Well… In fact For instance Um… that’s hard one to answer I suppose

Preparing your talk	Giving your talk	Agreeing/ Disagreeing	Alternative Viewpoint	Giving an Explanation	Making a Suggestion	Presenting an Argument	Saying something in another way	Giving Two Sides of an Argument	Speculating
I’d like to talk about… I’ve chosen to talk about… I’m going to talk about… I’ve lived in quite a few places, but one place I particularly liked was… I’ve really only ever lived in…so I’ll talk about that.	My answer Is in the context of That is obviously It’s a bit hard to explain	I think/ I don’t (really) think… I believe/ I don’t (really) believe… Personally, I think… In my opinion/In my view… It seems to me that… Yes, absolutely (because) Certainly yes, (because) Yes, I think we should actually, (because) Yes, I personally like … (because) Not really (because) To be honest, no, (because) I’m not sure that I agree with I’m afraid I can’t agree with that idea (because) Yes, I agree I can’t help thinking the same True enough That’s right I couldn’t agree more That’s just what I was thinking That’s my view exactly I’m afraid I disagree Well, as a matter of fact I’m not sure about that I see things rather differently myself I don’t entirely agree with you Actually Well, my opinion is that I must take issue with you on that	I’m not sure (that)… I’m afraid I think… Well, I don’t know for sure but… Possibly, but… I tend to think/ believe…	Firstly, One reason is That’s why I think So Consequently That’s why As a result of Because of It’s possibly due to It may be because of It may come from the fact that	I think we should It would be a good idea to What about…? One idea would be to One thing we could do would be to	It is often said On the one hand Another point is that Many consider However Secondly First of all I believe that Moreover The most important point is that Nevertheless In my opinion On the other hand Furthermore By way of contrast Whereas	What I mean is What I’m trying to say is How can I put this In other words Perhaps I should make that clearer by saying… How can I best say this? To put it another way	While …may be true, I also think… Although… It’s true that… but on the other hand… Some people think…However, I think… Certainly/Obviously…but…	I would imagine that a pilot needs to be able to think quickly. I suppose people who take up nursing need to de dedicated. They also need to be patient and understanding. I’d say… As far as I can see… It’s probably useful for a … to be… I think it’s important/essential for a …to be…

Question words	If you didn’t understand the question ask the examiner to repeat	If you do not understand the word ask to explain	If you cannot remember the words, describe and explain	Asking for clarification or repetition	Interrupting	Asking somebody for their opinion	Saying something in another way	Summing up
What When Why Where Who How	" I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that, could you repeat it for me, please?" " Excuse me I didn't quite hear what you said." " Sorry I'm afraid I don't understand." “I’m sorry, can you repeat the question, please?”	"I'm sorry I don't quite understand when you say, 'demystify', would you please explain."	"Yes, I know the words but I just cannot remember them at the moment.  What I am talking about is the little wheeled vehicle a baby is pushed around in." (a baby carriage)	I’m sorry? Would you mind repeating that? Pardon? Could you repeat what you said? What was that? I’m afraid I didn’t catch that?	Excuse me for interrupting Sorry to butt in… Could I just say that… Sorry to interrupt, but…	What do you think about? What are your views on…? What are your feelings about? What’s your opinion?	What I mean is What I’m trying to say is How can I put this In other words Perhaps I should make that clearer by saying… How can I best say this? To put it another way In brief	So basically… In short To sum up So in conclusion To summarise