Provide your Opinion verbs of opinion are usually in the simple form, while actions are in the continuous. For example: I think he’s a wonderful person [opinion] I’m thinking about my next holiday [action right now] I think / reckon that President Obama is a poor leader. I believe he’s the best player of all time. I don’t think he’ll do that. Sorry, but I feel it’s not the right time to do this. I don’t believe that’s true. In my opinion, this just isn’t right.
Speculating He seems to be more tired than usual. She can’t be American – I think she’s Australian with that hat! He’s probably in his 30’s. He can’t be older. She must be late – her car is not here yet. Talking About Facts Paris has a population of 8 million people. President Obushma is the most popular president since the 1980’s. Victoria is located in southern Australia.
Common phrases Formal ways of expressing your opinion characteristic of written English: In my opinion In my view From my point of view Less formal equivalents more characteristic of spoken English: To my mind I feel I reckon If you ask me To be honest (with you) As far as I am concerned
Example How acceptable is it for wild animals to be kept in zoos? I believe that it is quite unacceptable for animals to be kept in zoos. It seems to me that when they are confined to a cage they never have enough room to move around. I would argue that it is kinder to allow a rare animal to die naturally in the wilds rather than to prolong its life artificially in a zoo.
Clarying an opinion It may sometimes be necessary to explain a thought in greater detail. Useful linking expressions for doing this include: By this I mean… Here I'm referring to… To be more precise… That is to say…
Example: By spending money on confining wild animals to zoos, we are wasting resources. By this I mean there are more urgent economic problems to deal with: hospitals and schools should be our first priority.
For more information visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv281.shtml