Hello, Everyone. And welcome back to English with Lucy. Today, I'm going to give you 21 advanced alternatives for 'I think'.
I think... I think... is very boring, overused, and it's just repetitive. In debates; in English classes; in conversation, we are always asked to give our opinion. And more often than not, I hear my students saying: "I think... blah blah blah..."; "I think... blah blah blah..."; "I don't think... blah blah blah...".
If you really want to show you have an incredible and profound, and advanced vocabulary, then you need to find some other ways of saying 'I think so'. I have got 21 advanced alternatives ranging from formal to informal. So this video is really going to help you with your vocabulary, but if you want to improve your listening skills and your pronunciation skills even further, then I highly recommend the special method of reading an actual book whilst listening to the audiobook version on Audible.
It might sound complicated, but it's not, and it helped so many of my English students. What you have to do is take a book that you have already read in English or a book that you would like to read in English. I've got loads of recommendations down below in the description box, and read it whilst listening to the audiobook version on Audible. So as you are reading the words, you are also hearing the words. Reading alone will not help you with your pronunciation. English is not a strictly phonetic language, the way a word is spelled or written in English might not give you any indication as to how it is pronounced.
If you listen to a word as you read it, your brain will start making connections, and next time you see that word, you'll know exactly how it's meant to sound, how it's pronounced. And the next time you hear that word, you'll know exactly how it's spelled, or written. It is such an effective method, and the best part is you can get one free audiobook as a 30-day trial on Audible. All you've got to do is click on the link in the description box, and sign up.
Right, let's get started with the lesson.
1. I'm not gonna lie, ... / NGL
Number one is an informal one: "I'm not going to lie, ..." or, "I'm not gonna lie, ...". I've got a video on wanna and gonna. It's a very helpful one actually, "I'm not gonna lie, ..." sometimes just shortened down to "Not Gonna Lie" or abbreviated to NGL. So if we're texting, NGL, and the our opinion.
An example: (i.e., I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty insulted to not be invited to my ex-boyfriend's wedding. )
2. in all honesty, ...
Number two is "in all honesty, ...". This is very commonly used nowadays. And I would say it's leaning towards informal.
An example: (i.e., In all honesty, I had every right to be there. )
3. in my view, ...
Number three is, "In my view, ...". And this one is slightly more formal, actually.
Another example: (i.e., In my view, I should've been invited so it was totally fair for me to turn up on the day.)
4. if you ask me, ...
Number four is, "If you ask me, ..."
An example: (i.e., If you ask me, the church service was wonderful, but it was a shame I had to stand at the back.)
5. as far as I can tell, ...
Number five is, "As far as I can tell, ...". These past two have been fairly neutral, neither informal nor formal.
An example: (i.e., As far as I can tell, the bride wasn't really expecting me.)
6. to my mind, ...
Number six is, "To my mind, ...". And this just means to me, but we're talking about our brain rather than ourselves, and it is more formal.
An example: (i.e., To my mind, she should've been happier to see me and receive my support.)
7. as far as I'm concerned, ...
Number seven, again, slightly more formal, "As far as I'm concerned, ...".
An example: (i.e., As far as I'm concerned, she totally overreacted and shouldn't have cried.)
8. the way I see things/it, ...
Number eight, "The way I see things, ..." or "The way I see it, ...". You can use either/or.
An example: (i.e., The way I see things, I made the family photographs a lot more interesting.)
9. as I see things/it, ...
An alternative, "As I see things, ..." or "As I see it, ..."
An example: (i.e., As I see it, they obviously didn't take me into consideration when drawing up the seating plans.)