The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

15.1. Agreement and disagreement
Unit fifteen. Modality

Sections 270-273

It is often a good idea to be polite when agreeing or disagreeing with another person’s opinion.

• When agreeing with an unfavourable opinion, we can qualify the agreement with an expression of regret.

• When we deny or contradict what has been said, we can disagree tactfully by softening the denial or contradiction in some way.

• Sometimes we may only partially agree with what has been said. Then we can qualify our agreement with a statement that suggests another view.

• We can also strengthen our agreement by adding comments which give further support to what has been said.

Task one **

Make a qualified agreement or tactful disagreement with the following unfavourable opinions.

1. I didn’t like that movie at all. It was a very silly story.

2. The management made a big mistake employing that woman.

3. The food in that restaurant is always undercooked.

4. He comes up with some stupid ideas. And the latest is the worst.

5. Fancy painting a door that colour!

6. You really can’t believe everything he says.

7. United played a poor game on Tuesday. They shouldn’t have won.

8. He’s not the man for the job. That’s the problem.

9. The book had some good ideas, but in the end it amounted to nothing.

10. The exam results were very poor this year.

Task two **

Make enthusiastic or emphatic responses to the utterances below.

1. United should have won last Tuesday.

2. The exam results won’t please everybody.

3. I loved that film. I could see it again.

4. What a beautiful picture that is!

5. You can always rely on him to give a good presentation.

6. The trouble is there aren’t any real leaders in politics any more.

7. It was a very good course.

8. I’ve given up the car. On long journeys, the roads get so crowded.

9. I’m not sure John’s going to be very happy working under Alan.

10. Didn’t you enjoy that play!

Task three **

The underlined responses to the utterances below may be thought somewhat “impolite”. Soften them in some way to make the disagreement more tactful.

1. A: I really didn’t like that film. B: It was very good.

2. A: The government must do what the people want. B: Nonsense. The people want so many different things.

3. A: Well done, the Danes. No to the Euro! B: That’s not a very sensible attitude.

4. A: She’s the most stupid person I’ve ever met. B: That’s very unfair.

5. A: They shouldn’t have let him become a member. B: He works very hard for the club.

6. A: He’s not a very good teacher, is he? B: I like him.

7. A: I don’t like any of these paintings. B: Why not? Some are good.

8. A: I didn’t understand anything he was talking about in that lecture. B: It was very clear to me.

9. A: There’s never been a better time to invest in securities. B: Whatever gave you that idea? I wouldn’t do it.

10. A: He must be the richest man in the country. B: There are a lot of people richer than him.