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Functional Language For C1 Oral Test

This document provides useful expressions for an oral exam to make the test taker feel at ease when answering questions, expressing opinions, comparing and contrasting pictures, and discussing causes and results. Some examples include saying "That's a difficult question, let me think for a second" when needing time to think, "In my view..." to express a personal opinion, and "It's clearly down to..." to discuss the cause of a problem.

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Carlos Garcia Moro
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
523 views

Functional Language For C1 Oral Test

This document provides useful expressions for an oral exam to make the test taker feel at ease when answering questions, expressing opinions, comparing and contrasting pictures, and discussing causes and results. Some examples include saying "That's a difficult question, let me think for a second" when needing time to think, "In my view..." to express a personal opinion, and "It's clearly down to..." to discuss the cause of a problem.

Uploaded by

Carlos Garcia Moro
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Functional Language for

the oral test


Useful expressions to make you feel at ease

Finding time to
think...

Thats a difficult question,


let me think for a second.
Thats a very interesting
question, let me think.
Its very difficult to know
exactly, but I think /but I
believe/perhaps.
Its difficult to say, I think.
I dont really know for sure,
but I would say.

Expressing
personal opinion

Speaking for myself /


Personally speaking...
In my view .../ For my part
/ To my mind
As I see it / It seems to
me
As far as Im concerned / If
you ask me (to express
your opinion when its
slightly critical)

Expressing
personal opinion
(II)

Frankly speaking... / To be
frank (to express slightly
controversial opinions)
I dont have an opinion
one way or another /on it.
Its not something Ive
given much thought to.
It doesnt concern me.

Expressing likes
and dislikes

Im very fond of
Im quite keen on ...
Ive never really been a fan
of ...
Ive always had quite a soft
spot for ...
... has never appealed to me
Im not really into ...
I cant stand (+ing)...
I cant bear (+ing)...

Expressing likes
and dislikes (II)

I kind of like
I really like / love
I find . really
fascinating/exciting
What I like most is
I (absolutely) hate /
detest/loathe/cant bear
/cant stand
I dont fancy
I find rather boring / dull

Comparing
pictures

The main connection /


similarity between these
pictures is that ...
The most striking /
obvious similarity is that
Both pictures show
It is clear / obvious that..

Contrasting
pictures

The main/significant/most
important/most significant
difference between the
pictures is that
There are several differences
between the pictures: firstly, ...
In the first picture

whereas/while in the
second picture

Expressing
personal
preference

Id much rather than ....


I dont like the idea of ,
so I would prefer to
Im not so keen on ... , so I
would choose to ...

Speculation and
hypothesis

Judging from he may / could /


might be
I cant tell for sure / be certain, but it
looks as if she
He could well be a
I should think hes either or
because...
She cant possibly be because
Although I cant be sure, perhaps
You can tell from his/her face that
he/she must be

Discussing the
cause of a
problem

Its clearly/mostly/ down to


Its not so much a result of but
rather of
Its partly/largely/entirely due
to
I believe plays a small/great
part as well.
I think has a lot to do with it.
A key factor is
I fell that is to blame
The obvious culprit in this case
is ...

Discussing the
result of a
problem

This (often / invariably /


directly) leads to / causes /
brings about
As a result, / consequence,

Inevitably...

Talking about
the past

in the old days


years ago
a thing of the past
in my grandparents time

Talking about
the present

Today
whereas these days
at the moment
in recent years
in the last few years
recently
becoming more and more

Talking about
the future

in a few years time


in the not too distant future
by the year 2050
in years to come
years from now

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