expressing our attitude

Finn Hello! Welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. I’m Finn.

Catherine And I’m Catherine. Today we’re talking about words and phrases that we use to express our attitude to what we’re saying or writing.

Finn So two common examples are fortunately , which shows I’m pleased, and I’m afraid, which shows I’m sorry about something. So let’s start by listening to Rob. He’s talking about electric cars. Are you a fan of the electric car, Catherine?

Catherine I’m not a fan of any kind of car actually, Finn. If I had one I would probably consider electric.

Finn Very environmentally considerate of you.

Catherine Thank you. And before we hear from Rob, here’s a question: What is Rob’s attitude towards public transport and bicycles? Here he is:

INSERT Rob I must admit I’m not sure about the whole idea of electric cars. I mean obviously we need to find alternative forms of energy, but if you ask me , reducing the numbers of cars on the road should be the priority. Ideally we would all use public transport or bicycles. Seriously , I think people should be given tax breaks if they don’t own a car! But of course that’s not going to happen any time soon.

Finn So Rob’s attitude is that ideally we would all use public transport or bicycles.

Catherine Or to put that another way, he thinks it would be ideal if we all used public transport or bicycles. By beginning the sentence with ideally , Rob expresses his attitude nicely in just one word. Right. Let’s listen for more words and phrases that shows Rob’s attitude in this clip.

INSERT Rob
I must admit I’m not sure about the whole idea of electric cars. I mean obviously we need to find alternative forms of energy, but if you ask me, reducing the numbers of cars on the road should be the priority.

Finn So he begins with the phrase I must admit … Now what does that tell us?

Catherine Well, we usually use that expression when we’re going to say something that might be unpopular. Perhaps we’re a little embarrassed to say it.

Finn Yes, Rob knows that a lot of people are keen on the idea of electric cars, but he’s going to say something different.

Catherine That’s right. Then Rob used the word obviously . People use obviously to show that an idea is easy to see or understand.

Finn And by using it here, Rob means that the need for alternative forms of energy is clear to him, even though he has other ideas on the subject too.

Catherine Exactly. Because he then said if you ask me , reducing the numbers of cars on the road should be the priority.

Finn So this phrase: if you ask me - it’s like in my opinion , isn’t it?

Catherine It is, but it tells us more about the speaker’s attitude. It’s less direct than in my opinion , and it shows that Rob realises that other people might disagree. Let’s have another clip.

INSERT Rob Seriously , I think people should be given tax breaks if they don’t own a car!

Finn Seriously. Now why does he use that word here?

Catherine Seriously shows that Rob knows that his idea might sound like a joke to some people. But he wants to make it clear that it’s not a joke.

Finn Oh yes, people often use it when they have been joking and they want to start being serious, don’t they?

Catherine Yes, they do. Right, listen again:

INSERT Rob But of course that’s not going to happen any time soon.

Finn Well, of course is a very familiar expression. Now here Rob uses it to show his understanding of the real situation.

Catherine Does it also sound slightly critical of the government?

Finn Yes, I think it does. He’s not expecting any new government policies that will change the situation on the roads.

IDENT
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.

Finn And we’re talking about words and phrases that show attitude. Obviously, they are very important for expressing yourself and understanding what other people mean!

Catherine That’s right. But I’m afraid they can be tricky to define in a dictionary, can’t they, Finn?

Finn Yes, they can. In fact you can often only understand their real meaning from the context that they are in.

Catherine That’s right. And it’s nearly the end of the show so obviously it’s time for a quiz! So question one: Which is correct? a) I must admit I haven’t done much work today or b) If you ask me, I haven’t done much work today.

Finn That’s a) I must admit .

Catherine Correct. Good. Now question two: a) Ideally, the weather will affect our plans for the day or b) Obviously, the weather will affect our plans for the day.

Finn
And that one is b) obviously .

Catherine Correct. And question three: a) OK, but seriously, what do you really think? b) OK, but of course, what do you really think?

Finn And this time it’s a) seriously .

Catherine Yes it is. And well done if you got those right at home.

Finn And now, here’s a game you can play with a friend to help you practise these words and phrases. Have a conversation with them and try to use as many of these words and phrases as you can. Give yourself a point each time you manage to do it.

Catherine That’s all we got time for and there’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Both Bye!