ENGLISH PILL 56/365: CONVERSATION GAMBITS I.

1. ASKING FOR INFORMATION: I’d like to know… / I’m interested in … / Could you tell me …? / Do you know … ? / Could you find out …? / Do you happen to know …?

2. INTERRUPTING: Sorry, but … / Excuse me for interrupting, but … / Can I add here that… / I’d like to comment on that. / Can I add something? / Can I say something here? / I’d like to say something, if I may. / Can I ask a question?

3. TELLING A STORY: First, / First of all, / To begin with, / Then, / After that, / So, / So then, / At the end, / Finally,

4. A SURPRISING FACT: Do you realise that … / Believe it or not, / You may not believe it, but … / It may sound strange, but … / The surprising thing is … / Surprisingly, / Oddly enough, / Funnily enough,

5. SURPRISING NEWS: Guess what! / Surprise! / I’ve got news for you! / Do you know what! / Are you sitting down? / You’d better sit down! / You won’t believe this, but …

6. CHANGING THE SUBJECT: Talking of … / That reminds me … / By the way, / Oh, before I forget, …

7. GUESSING: I’d say … / Could it be … / Perhaps it’s … / I think it’s … / It looks like … / It’s difficult to say, but I’d guess… 

8. PERSONAL OPINIONS: In my opinion, / I personally believe … / I personally think … / I personally feel … / Not everyone will agree with me, but … / To my mind, …

9. A CONVICTION: I honestly feel that … / I strongly believe that … / I’m convinced that … / Without a doubt, / I’m positive … / I’m absolutely certain that …

10. SHARING A CONFIDENCE: I’ve heard … / They say … / Just between you and me, / I heard on the grapevine / This shouldn’t be passed around, but … / Have you heard … / Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but …