How to say how much you know/don't know
I know | I don't know |
| I'm pretty sure | I haven't a clue |
| I know it like the back of my hand | I don't know off the top of my head |
| I know it by heart | I don't know offhand |
| I know it inside out | I've never heard of him |
| I'm fairly certain it is | I know next to nothing about it |
| I'm positive it is | I haven't the faintest idea |
How to talk about an achievement
| Background information | I've always... I'd never done ... |
| Details | We set up ... We decided to organise .. |
| Problems | I didn't know what to expect. The whole thing was quite a challenge. It was tough. |
| How it felt | It exceeded my expectations. We felt we'd accomplished something. It was a fantastic learning experience. |
| Results/follow up | I've learnt a lot. I'm planning to .. |
How to give advice / make recommendations about places
| Saying it's good | It's a must / a must-see. It's good value for money. |
| Saying it's not so good | It's a bit overrated / overpriced. It's not all it's cracked up to be. I found it a bit dull / touristy. |
| Recommending | If I were you, I'd go to ... Make sure you go to ... Don't miss ... / You should try ... |
| Warning | Watch out for ... One thing to be wary of is ... |
How to describe people
| First impressions | She comes across as ... (adjective) ... but once you get to know her, she's ... (adjective) The thing that strikes you about ... is that ... |
| Character - good things and bad things | The thing I (don't) like about ... is ... What I (don't) really like about ... is ... He's so + (adjective) He's such a (+adjective) + person/man, etc. He can be a bit ... (negative adjective) |
How to be vague / imprecise
| Give imprecise information about how often something happens | once in a blue moon from time to time |
| Give imprecise information about quantity, time and / or numbers | more or less loads of mistakes about N-ish in an hour or so |
| Give imprecise information about things you do / have been doing | bits and pieces that kind of thing |
| Give imprecise answers to direct questions | sort of / kind of in a way |
How to present a case for something
| It changed ... completely It paved the way for ... It's made a massive difference to ... It's revolutionised ... We shouldn't underestimate ... It has had a huge impact on ... |
How to express priorities
| Saying it's very important | My main priority is ... The essential thing for me is ... This is absolutely vital! I couldn't do without ... |
| Saying it's not important | I'm not really bothered / concerned about this. This isn't a major priority. I could do without ... |
How to describe architecture
| Use superlatives | The Great Pyramid is arguably / probably the most ... It is one of Australia's best known, and most photographed ... It is thought to be /It is the largest / tallest ... |
| Provide details (size / description, etc) | It is built from metal / stones ... The base is ... Occupying / Covering an area of more than ... metres squared It covers ... of ground floor space. Standing 134m high / above... |
| Describe reason for building / purpose | It was built to celebrate the anniversary / as a memorial for / in order to / in honour of ... Built to house / as office space ... |
How to explain procedures
| Prefacing with a general statement | It can be a bit tricky at first. It's pretty straightforward. It's really easy. It's a piece of cake. |
| Sequencing | Firstly ... / The first thing you've got to do is ... Then / Secondly ..., / The next step is to + infinitive ... Once you do / 've done this ... Finally, ... |
| Addressing the listener | You do this ... / Do this... One does this (formal / usually written English) |
| Conditions / what can go wrong | Without doing this, it won't work. If it doesn't work, you should ... |
| Checking it's understood | OK? Got it? / Any questions? |
How to stall for time (when you're asked a difficult question)
| That's a good question. Let me see. That's tricky. I'd have to think about that. That's a difficult question. Well, ... |
How to describe problems
(when something goes wrong with every machines)
| It keeps getting jammed. I can't get it to make any copies. It's always coming up with the same message. I don't know how to make it shut down. I'm having problems switching it on. This ... seem to be stuck. It won't go round. |