LEARNERS NOTES

B2, Unit 1, Module 1

Contents
Language Focus
On-the-job Skills
Grammar

Language Focus
Objective
CAN give opinions, agree, and disagree
CAN maintain a positive atmosphere while disagreeing

Giving opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing

Business meetings always have a goal. They are called to gather opinions and to reach some agreement
concerning this particular goal. Thus, meetings are places where people present ideas and give their
opinions. It would be quite unusual if every opinion given was met with agreement. It is, therefore,
normal that meetings produce disagreements among the participants.
Any time people disagree, there is the possibility that negative feelings will arise. When this happens, a
positive working atmosphere may become impossible. In order to prevent this from happening, native
English speakers realise that there are ways to speak that are less confrontational. There are a number of
phrases that can be used to disagree without appearing overly aggressive. In other words, disagreement is
normal and will occur at meetings but when done with some tact, such disagreements will not disrupt the
positive working environment that is so important to a meeting's success.

Language Focus
Giving an opinion
First, let's look at some language used to present an opinion.
I think/I feel/I believe...
In my opinion, ...
If you ask me, ...
As far as I'm concerned, ...
The way I see it, ...

These statements will likely evoke some sort of response, whether it's agreement or disagreement.

Agreeing and disagreeing

Obviously, agreeing does not generally present problems. However, it is a good idea to let the other
participants know where you stand on an issue by expressing agreement correctly. You can show strong
agreement with such phrases as...
I (completely) agree.
I couldn't agree more.
My opinion exactly.
Or weaker agreement with phrases like...
I agree up to a point...
I agree in part, but...
I more or less agree.
Disagreeing is where the main problem occurs. When it is necessary to disagree, it is important to choose a
phrase that correctly shows the strength of your disagreement. This will tell the other participants where
you stand. If something is said that you strongly disagree with, you can say things like...
I completely disagree.
I couldn't agree less.
That's ridiculous.
Nonsense.
However, if you use such expressions, you should expect to receive some strong challenges that may even
provoke arguments. For this reason, they are often avoided in meetings.

YES S.A.S. 2007 All rights reserved.!

Language Focus
Preserving a positive atmosphere despite disagreement
It is more common to use phrases that show some disagreement but try to preserve the positive
atmosphere of the meeting, such as...
I don't completely agree.
I'm not so sure I can agree with that.
I understand what you're saying but...
Sometimes a simple question may be used to show that you don't completely agree. Questions such as...
Are you saying that... ?
Excuse me, but do you really think... ?
Although, on the surface, these may appear to be questions asking for clarification, in the context of a
meeting, they may also show your disagreement.
For example:
Are you saying the company will lose money by locating an office overseas?
Excuse me, but do you really think we should not invest in this program?
Remember that your job at a meeting is to give opinions and share your feelings about the opinions of
others. Underlying all of this is the need to create a positive working atmosphere; thus, the proper use of
language can help you achieve both of these goals.

YES S.A.S. 2007 All rights reserved.!

On-the-job Skills
Objective
CAN read and listen to language that is useful in giving and supporting opinions

Persuading
It is not enough to simply give an opinion. In business, you have to support your opinion in some way.
Generally, opinions are supported with facts or statistics. If necessary, these can be presented in the form
of charts and graphs, which make numbers more understandable. You can also cite cases that are similar
to the one you are presenting to support your opinion. When you support your opinion well, you become
more persuasive. Once you have stated your opinion, you can use various phrases to introduce such
support.

Persuading with logic

Let me give you an example.
Let me show you what I mean.
I'd like to show you this graph that illustrates my point.
There are several reasons that I believe this is the case. First, ...
Let's look at the positive and negative aspects of ...
I'd like to tell you about what one company did in a similar situation.
Remember that logic is only one way you can persuade someone to accept your opinion. Emotional
appeals can, at times, be just as effective.

Persuading with emotional appeal

If you really believe in (your company, the future, etc.), you must...
In order to remain (competitive, the leader in our field, etc.), we should...
I think that if we really care about (our customers, business, etc.), we have to...
When using such phrases, you do not try to persuade your listener with logic. You are only appealing to their
emotions. Both types of persuasion can be effective.

YES S.A.S. 2007 All rights reserved.!

Grammar
Objective
CAN recognise and construct 'what' clauses

What clauses
A sentence is a clause. In fact, any group of words with a subject and verb (or predicate) is a clause. A
sentence is a special kind of clause because it can stand alone. In grammar, this is called an independent
clause.
The sentence, "The cat chased the dog." makes sense by itself. It is, therefore, an independent clause.
However, English has other kinds of clauses that cannot stand alone. They need to be connected to a
sentence to make sense.
The following words make a clause:
What I want
Although it has a subject and a verb, it does not make sense unless connected to more information, as in
the following sentence:
1. I know what I want.
This sentence has a main or independent clause, 'I know', plus another dependent clause, 'what I want'.
Notice that this sentence is similar to the sentence:
2. I know Tom.
In this case, the subject of the sentence is 'I', the verb is 'know', and the object is 'Tom'.
A clause can work as many parts of speech. In sentence 1, the whole clause, 'what I want', acts like a noun
in the same way that 'Tom' does in sentence 2. Thus, 'what I want' is the object of the verb 'know'.
In a sentence, nouns usually have two main jobs. They can be subjects or they can be objects. If clauses can
act as nouns, can they act as subjects of sentences? Look at the following example.
What I want is a new car.
Notice that the whole clause, 'what I want' is the subject of this sentence.
Try to find the noun clauses in the following sentences:
He saw what they did.
!

YES S.A.S. 2007 All rights reserved.!

Grammar
I don't know what he is thinking.
Did you understand what he said?
What she did was amazing.
Many English learners have problems with such sentences. When they see a 'wh-' word like 'what', they
think that it is the beginning of a question. They often make mistakes like the following.
I don't know what is he thinking. (Incorrect)
Just remember that a noun clause used as an object in a sentence does not contain an inverted subject and
verb like a question does.

YES S.A.S. 2007 All rights reserved.!