Asking Possibilities, Expressing Curiosity and Desires, Expressing Views

Asking possibilities

To know, to find, to inform possibilities the following phrases might be useful.

Do you think it is possible

• ·         Is it likely to….
• ·         Is there any chance?
• ·         Can she be…?
• ·         I think it is going to….
• ·         I bet…..
• ·         It’s quite possible

Asking something if it is possible

• Is it possible to ... ?
• Is there any possibility of ... ?
• What are the chances of ...?
• What possibility is there that ... ?
• What's the possibility of ... ?

Saying something is possible

• It's possible ...
• There's a good possibility.
• Chances are ...

Expressing Curiosity and Desire

What I’d really like to find out is …

I’d be very interested to know …

I’ve been meaning to ask you.

I’d like to know …

I wish I knew …

I’d love to know …

What’s on your mind?

I wonder …?  Curiosity      A feel that happen when we really want to know about something. Usually “curiosity” happens when we see something strange or something new. Let’s describe it as follow:           Situation 1 Sarah : “I’m so curious about the new student.” Farhan : “Yeah, me too. Let’s wait for her. She loves coming to the library during the break.” Situation 2 Khadis : “You look so happy. I’m interested to know what happen to you.” Sarah : “Sure, Dad. I got the highest score for math again.” Khadis : “Really? So, congratulation.” Situation 3 Sarah : “Why are you staring me like that?” Farhan : “I wonder why you could be smarter than me.” Sarah : “Because I’m your sister, hehe..…” EXPRESSING VIEWS in my view / opinion I think we would normally drop point of and simply say in his view(in my view / in their opinion / etc How important is it, in your view, that the twins should stay together? ~ In my opinion, it's very important. If we want to use point of view, I think we would more often say from my point of view rather than according to my point of view. Both these expressions emphasis the position or angle you are judging the situation from: From my point of view it makes no difference whether you return on Saturday night or Sunday morning. to my mind / etc In my view, from my point of view, in my opinion are all fairly formal ways of expressing your opinion characteristic of written English. Less formal equivalents more characteristic of spoken English, include the following: to my mind: to emphasis that this is your opinion reckon: usually to express an opinion about what Is likely to happen feel: to express a strong personal opinion if you ask me: to express an opinion that may be critical to be honest (with you:( to express a critical opinion without seeming rude as far as I'm concerned: to express an opinion that may be different from others' To my mind the quality of their football is just not good enough. academic writing and expressing opinions If you are required to write an academic essay in which you are asked to express an opinion (see below), useful alternatives to in my view include: I think that… It seems to me that… I would argue that… I do not believe that… I am unconvinced that… I do not agree that… 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. making concessions To achieve balance in any essay, it may be useful to incorporate opinions that are different from your own. Useful linking words and expressions include: Of course, many / some people argue… It is sometimes argued… Admittedly… While… It is sometimes argued that it is possible for conditions in the zoo to replicate the wild animal's natural habitat. While this may be feasible for smaller reptiles, it will never be possible, in my view, for the larger mammals which needs acres of space to roam around in. clarifying 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… 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