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英語でも強い意見ばかり言う事は得策ではありません。場の状況、相手、自分自身の心情等によっては柔らかい言い回しの方が合う時もあります。このレッスンでは様々な表現を駆使し、ソフトな意見を述べることに焦点を当てます。トピックは政治です。
Introduction
In the previous lesson, we looked at ways to express strong opinions. However, there are many occasions where we may not have a very strong attitude regarding a particular topic. In this lesson, we will consider ways of expressing softer, less direct opinions.
Warm Up
Is your government doing a good job?
Language
The first five phrases mean effectively the same thing and can be used in the same way to express positive or negative feelings on an issue.
Make sure your intonation matches the meaning of the phrase.
- I tend to think that... — Used for a soft opinion.
- I suppose that... — Used for a soft opinion.
- I would say that... — Used for a soft opinion.
- My feeling would be that... — Used for a soft opinion.
- It seems to me that... — Used for a soft opinion.
- To tell you the truth, I think/don't think... — This is used to introduce a negative opinion or an unusual/controversial opinion.
Practice
Now that you've had some practice using these phrases, try to answer some more questions. Use as many of the above phrases as you can.