English in use

English in use

What English natives say	What is understood	What the English natives mean
I hear what you say	He accepts my point of view	I disagree an do not wish to discuss it any further
With the greatest respect	He is listening to me	I think you are wrong
Not bad	Poor or mediocre	Good or very good
Quite good	Quite good	A bit disappointing
Perhaps you would like to think about/ I would suggest/ It would be nice if	Think about the idea but do what you like	This is an order. Do it or be prepared to justify yourself.
Where appropriate locally/ Local flexibility	Do it if you can	Do whatever you like
Oh, by the way/ Incidentally	This is not very important	This is the primary purpose of our discussion
It was a bit disappointing that/ It is a pity you	It doesn't really matter	I am most upset and cross
Very interesting	They are impressed	I don't agree/ I don't belive you
Could we consider some other options	They have not yet decided	I don't like your idea
I'll bear it in mind	They will probably do it	I will do nothing about it
Please think about that some more	Good idea, keep developing it	It is a bad idea. Don't do it
I'm sure it is my fault	It was their fault	It is your fault!
That is an original point of view	They like my ideas	You must be crazy