CAE Speaking Phrases

Likes/dislikes
I’m into…
I’m a keen/avid (surfer)
I’m keen on/fond of (surfing)
I (go surfing) to unwind, to escape the stresses and strains of my day to day life.
I like nothing more than (to go surfing)
I’m itching to try/go…. (I really want to)

Opinion
As far as I’m concerned,
As I see it,
From my point of view,
In my humble opinion,
I’d say that…
To my mind...

Comparing/contrasting
Both pictures show…
In this picture they look as though they are…. Whereas/while in this picture…
In contrast
On the other hand
whereas /wɛər’æz/: while in contrast (mientras que)

Describing pictures
The first thing that strikes me about this picture is…
The thing that really jumps out of this picture is…
In this picture it looks as if/though they are…
They could/might/may be…
They could/might/may have just…
I’m pretty sure that they’re feeling…
I’d guess that they are…
You could say...
She seems to..
I’d describe her as...

Agreeing
We see eye to eye.
Yeah, I’d go along with that.
Absolutely!
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I couldn’t agree more.
You have a point there.
I’m with you 100% on this one.
Disagreeing
We don’t see eye to eye.
I take your point but…
I tend to disagree with you there.
That’s not always the case
I beg to differ
Isn’t it more a case of…

Starting to make a conclusion

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty.
The bottom line is we have to choose one…
It’s a tough one, I’m torn between … and ….
Shall we go with ….

Asking for opinion

What’s your take on….?
Where do you stand on….?
In my opinion…., would you go along with that?
What are your thoughts on this?

Personalising
Speaking from personal experience,…
For me personally,..
This is a topic that is particularly close to my heart…
It’s funny I was just thinking about this the other day.
My gut/initial reaction is…
If I were to choose one of these situations (part 2 pictures), I’d go with… because…

Impressive structures
Another point I’d like to add about … is…
It’s also worth bearing in mind that…
Coming back to what (Javi) was saying about …. I’d also like to point out that…
I think it’s important not to forget that…
The vast majority of people tend to think that…
At the end of the day…
When all’s said and done…

Asking for repetition

I beg your pardon, I didn’t catch that.
Sorry would you mind repeating that?
Could you repeat the question please?

Balance
One definite disadvantage is …….
To evaluate this ….
In addition …….
What’s more …….
……. on the other hand…….
In sharp contrast to this …….
However, where … is concerned ,….

Discourse management
The question is complex....
Several factors have to be considered when …….
First of all, …….
I think that people find … increasingly …….
I reckon most people would agree that …….
It’s widely accepted that …….
That is not to say that …….
Moving on to …….
Another factor/change/point is that…….
……is a separate issue.
The third and perhaps most important point is …….
All things considered ….
Taking everything into account …….
So, to sum up …….
So, on the whole …….

Exemplification
Speaking personally, …
Take the area of …….
By way of illustration …….
More specifically …….
for example …….
for instance …….
in general …….
As a result (of this) …….
This means that …….
This is (probably) due to …….
Undoubtedly, …….
This can be seen …….
It is mainly in …societies/communities that …….
Nowadays more and more people are turning to/against …
Where …. is concerned, however, there is a lot …….
It is well known that …….
The same can probably (not) be said of …….
This is clearly illustrated by the fact that …….
When it comes to …….
consequently …….
therefore …….

LINKERS
Contrast
In spite of / Despite Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun phrase. (a pesar
de)
Although / (Even) though Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a sentence. (aunque)
However (sin embargo)/ Nevertheless (no obstante)/ Still / Yet / Even so / On the
contrary (por el contrario)/ In contrast. Introduce a new idea which marks a contrast
with previously stated ideas. Introduced by a comma.
On the one hand ... On the other hand. Links two contrasting ideas / paragraphs.
In contrast to / Contrary to. Link two contrasting ideas. Followed by a noun phrase.
Whereas Link two contrasting ideas. Not separated by commas. (mientras)

Reason and cause

. Because / As / Since / Seeing that Introduce a sentence. Subordinate sentences

introduced by because always appear in final position.
. Because of (a causa de) / On account of / Owing to (debido a) / Due to (debido a).
Introduce a noun phrase.

Purpose

. In order to / So as to Introduce an infinitive of purpose.

. In order that / So that Introduce a sentence.

Consequence

. Consequently (en consecuencia)/ As a consequence / As a result (como

resultado) / Therefore (por lo tanto)
. As a consequence of / As a result of Followed by a noun phrase.
. So Introduces a sentence. No commas.

Addition

. Moreover / Furthermore / In addition / Besides / What's more Used after a strong

pause and separated from the sentences. They are introduced by a comma.
. As well as / In addition to / Besides Used to add one more piece of information.
Followed by a noun phrase.

Exemplification

For example / For instance Introduces an example referring to previously stated

ideas.
. Such as Introduces an example referring to the last idea.

CONNECTORS
Contrast

. but / yet: followed by a noun phrase or a sentence. ‘The book is short but / yet
interesting’
. in spite of / despite: It is placed at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.
‘He arrived on time despite / in spite of getting up late’
although / though/ even though / in spite of the fact that: followed by a complete
sentence. They can be placed at the beginning or in the middle of the sentence. If it is
placed at the beginning we need to use a comma after the clause.
‘Although / though / even though / in spite of the fact that the pupils had not studied,
they all passed their exams’.
. however, nevertheless, even so, on the one hand, on the other hand, on the
contrary:
‘He was quite ill however/ nevertheless/ even so, he went to school’
. while, whereas
‘This film is very interesting, while/whereas that one is quite boring’

Reason and cause

. because, as since, seeing that:

‘Because / as / since / seeing that it’s late, we should go home’
. because of, on account of, owing to, due to:
‘Because of / on account of / owing to / due to the weather, we stayed at home’
. in order to, so as to, to:
‘She uses her video in order to / so as to / to record TV programmes’

Add information

. for example, for instante, such as:

‘Vegetables are a good source of vitamins: for example / for instance, oranges have
vitamin C’
. more over, furthermore, besides, in addition to:
‘In addition to soul music, she likes rap’
. apart from, except for:
‘Apart from English, she speaks French’.

Succession

. - First of all / Firstly / To begin with / First ….

- Second / Secondly / Then …
- Third / Thirdly / After that...
- The next stage …
- Finally / in short / to sum up / in conclusion / lastly / last but not least…

Result

. As a result of:
‘As a result of his brave action, he was awarded a military medal.
Therefore, as a result, consequently, for this reason:
‘Consequently / for this reason, it always passes its annual road test’.
Order

First parragraph

At first sight: A primera vista

First: En primer lugar
First of all: Antes que nada
In the first place: En primer lugar
To start with: Para empezar

Second parragraph

In the second place: En segundo lugar

Second: Segundo
Secondly: En segundo lugar
Third: Tercero
Thirdly: En tercer lugar

Conclusion

Finally: Por último

In conclusion: Para concluir
Lastly: Por último
And eventually: Y finalmente

Adding information

apart from: Aparte de

in addition: Además
in addition to: Además de
What’s more: Además; lo que es más
moreover: Además
on top of that: Además
besides: Además
On the one hand: Por una parte
On the other hand: Por otra parte
and eventually: Y finalmente

Contrast

all the same: a pesar de todo

however: sin embargo
instead of: en vez de
in spite of / despite: a pesar de
nevertheless: no obstante
on the contrary: por el contrario
whereas / while: mientras
though / although: aunque

Reason

because of + noun: a causa de

due to + noun: debido a
due to the fact that + sentence: debido a que
for this / that reason: por esta / esa razón
owing to + noun: debido a
owing to the fact that + sentence: debido a que

Result

as a result: como resultado

because of: a causa de
consequently: en consecuencia
so: por lo tanto
that's why: por eso, por esa razón...
therefore: por lo tanto

Expressing facts
actually: en realidad
as a matter of fact: de hecho
in fact: de hecho
really: en realidad

Expressing a personal opinion

as far as I am concerned: por lo que a mí respecta
from my point of view: desde mi punto de vista
I agree: estoy de acuerdo
I disagree: no estoy de acuerdo
in my opinion: en mi opinión
in my view: según lo veo
I think that: creo que
it is true that: es verdad que
personally: personalmente
to be honest,: para ser honesto
to tell the truth,: a decir verdad

Explain
that is (to say): es decir
in other words: en otras palabras
in short: en resumen
above all: sobre todo
all in all: en general
at least: al menos
basically: básicamente, fundamentalmente
especially: especialmente, sobre todo
essentially: esencialmente
in general: en general
in particular: en particular
more or less: más o menos
on the whole: en general
to a certain extent: hasta cierto punto

Exemplifying
and so on: etcétera
for example: por ejemplo
for instance: por ejemplo
such: as tal(es)como

Summarizing
all in all: en suma
in brief: en resumen
in conclusion: Para concluir
in short: en resumen
on the whole: en general
to sum up: Para resumir

Sequencing
after that: después de eso
all of a sudden: de repente
Finally: Finalmente
First of all: En primer lugar
in the end: al final
in the meantime: mientras tanto
meanwhile: mientras tanto
next: luego
suddenly: de repente
then: entonces, después
while: mientras