Debate Vocabulary

What’s up guys!

Do you ever find yourselves in situations where you have to debate a topic, or maybe situations where not everyone is going to agree with your opinion? Do you find that sometimes you lack the necessary vocabulary to get your point across or even to express your content or discontent at someone else’s point of view? Not to worry…

Today, we are going to look at different ways in which we can agree and disagree with people in a debate environment as well as how we can express our opinion.

I agree with that…

When it comes to expressing agreement with a point or someone’s belief, there are many ways in which we can introduce our approval.

Examples:

• I totally agree with you
• I am in favour of your point
• I have no doubt about what you have said
• I couldn’t agree with you more
• That’s exactly what I was thinking

All of these express strong agreement with an aforementioned fact or point of view, although we have to remember that we are not always going to agree 100% with what everyone has to say.

What do I say if I don’t share someone’s opinion?

It is very likely in life situations that we are going to find ourselves in disagreements for one reason or another. When we don’t share the same opinion, it’s important for us to have the adequate vocabulary to express this.

Examples:

• I completely disagree with that (that = the opinion)
• I beg to differ- I think that…
• I think your point is very misleading…
• I am afraid I have to disagree with you because…

These examples will help you completely clarify your disagreement with someone’s opinion or point and can be used interchangeably to help your vocabulary vary.

What about expressing our point of view or opinion in the first place?

When we want to introduce our point of view, there are many introductory sentences that we can use to alert the interlocutors to it

Examples:

• In my opinion…
• It is my belief that…
• I am of the opinion that…
• I think that…
• I don’t believe that

These are just some of the ways in which we can make our opinion on something clear. Bear in mind that there are many more.

What should we concentrate on?

Obviously trying to learn every sentence at the beginning would be a lot of new vocabulary, that’s why it’s recommended to learn a couple from each section so that you have a little bit of variety to begin with and then from there you can build.

Don’t forget that if you would like more handy hints and tips on this and much more, you can sign up for free to ABA English.

Good luck!