Dialogs Involving Agreement and Disagreement
To answer questions about some dialogs in Part A, it is necessary to understand if the second speaker agrees or disagrees with the first speaker's ideas or proposals.
Agreement
- So do I
- Me too
- Neither do I
- I don't either.
- Who wouldn't?
- Isn't he/she/it though!
- I'll second that.
- I'll say
- You can say that again.
- Is/has/was it ever!
- You bet!
- I couldn't agree with you more.
- I feel the same way you do about it.
Disagreement
- I don't think so.
- That's not what I think.
- That's not the way I see it.
- Not really.
- I can't say I agree.
- I couldn't agree with you less.
- I'm afraid I don't agree.
- Probably not.
- Not necessarily.
- I'm afraid not.
- I'm not so sure.
Sample Items
You will hear:
M1: Howard certainly is a talented journalist.
F1: Isn't he though!
- She doesn't know if Howard is a journalist.
- She agrees that Howard is talented.
- She read Howard's journal.
- She doesn't think Howard is talented.
Although the woman's reply seems negative in form, it actually signals agreement.
You will hear:
F1: I thought Cheryl's photographs were the best at the exhibit.
M1: I didn't really see it that way.
What does the man mean?
You will see
- He thought Cheryl's photos were the best.
- He didn't look at Cheryl's photos.
- He thought other photos were better than Cheryl's.
- He didn't go to the exhibit.
9 Lessons