Phrases and practice

Learn a useful phrase in context, listen to its pronunciation and practise saying it.

• Removing an offensive passage should not entail removing a substantive question if it can be retained separately.C1 · #3251
• The moderator's response must address how the conversation is conducted, not whether they share the participant's opinion.C1 · #3252
• A request to return to the topic will be clearer if we identify which question still awaits an answer.C1 · #3253
• When merging repeated threads, let us retain information about their authors so that organising the discussion does not obscure their contributions.C1 · #3254
• Closing a thread for organisational reasons does not settle the dispute, and it is worth noting this in the final message.C1 · #3255
• A question about frequency should specify a particular period; otherwise the answer 'often' may refer to different time spans.C1 · #3256
• Let us not combine assessments of content and organisation in one question if we later want to identify which of them needs improvement.C1 · #3257
• An unmarked answer is not automatically a negative answer; the participant may have skipped the question for another reason.C1 · #3258
• An option to select 'not applicable' allows us to distinguish a lack of experience with a service from dissatisfaction with it.C1 · #3259
• If we changed the wording of the question, let us not present the difference in responses solely as a change in respondents' opinions.C1 · #3260
• The film's slow pace did not bother me in itself; the problem was that successive scenes did not deepen the portrayal of the characters.C1 · #3261
• An open ending can be a strength, provided it does not substitute for the clearly foreshadowed resolution of a conflict.C1 · #3262
• I would not equate the protagonist's views with the director's position, especially since later scenes undermine his self-confidence.C1 · #3263
• The music intensifies the scene's emotions, but in this passage it tells the viewer too explicitly how to judge the heroine's behaviour.C1 · #3264
• The fact that I did not enjoy the film does not prevent me from appreciating the consistency with which it was made.C1 · #3265
• The idea came to nothing because everyone waited for someone else to decide and nobody started the preparations.C1 · #3266
• You are twisting the facts when you portray our request for clarification as a refusal to cooperate.C1 · #3267
• After a week of misunderstandings, we are finally getting back on track: we know who is preparing the materials and when we will receive them.C1 · #3268
• She does not always have to take centre stage; this time her experience will be useful in supporting the facilitator.C1 · #3269
• Let us not buy a pig in a poke: let us ask for a sample lesson before enrolling the whole group in the new course.C1 · #3270
• Placing the most important object near the entrance may encourage visitors to explore, but requires space for people who stop there for longer.C1 · #3271
• The short description should be enough to understand the main idea, even if the details are available only after scanning a code.C1 · #3272
• Sharing a room does not necessarily mean sharing a history; the objects may illustrate different experiences of the same era.C1 · #3273
• Let us clearly mark which elements are reconstructions so that the care taken in making them is not mistaken for authenticity.C1 · #3274
• The route through the exhibition should allow visitors to skip some material without losing their bearings in the subsequent sections.C1 · #3275
• Withdrawing from one event does not mean that I no longer care about the initiative as a whole.C1 · #3351
• I would rather limit the scope of my role now than later fall short of expectations that were beyond my capacity from the outset.C1 · #3352
• The circumstances on which I based my earlier commitment have changed, so I need to agree on the timing again.C1 · #3353
• I am not questioning the value of the trip; I am merely trying to determine whether I can devote enough time to it under the current circumstances.C1 · #3354
• Rest planned in advance is a commitment for me, not an empty slot that can be filled with another task.C1 · #3355
• Before we try to find a compromise, let us check whether both people use the word 'ready' in the same sense.C1 · #3356
• I will try to summarise what you said, and you can correct me if I shift the emphasis or omit an important condition.C1 · #3357
• We can acknowledge that the information was provided while also admitting that it was not sufficiently noticeable to the recipient.C1 · #3358
• The conversation will become easier if we distinguish a request for change from an assessment of what someone did earlier.C1 · #3359
• We do not have to settle every past dispute to agree on a specific course of action for next week.C1 · #3360
• The first step should describe the action we actually begin with, not a result that appears only after several stages.C1 · #3361
• If the instructions refer to an illustration, the labels in the drawing must match the names used in the text.C1 · #3362
• The explanation of an exception should appear before the decision it affects, so that the user does not have to undo an action already completed.C1 · #3363
• Let us not assume familiarity with an abbreviation merely because it is obvious to the people who prepared the material.C1 · #3364
• The example is meant to make the task easier, so its complexity should not distract attention from the principle being explained.C1 · #3365
• Reading between the lines, I sense hesitation, but I would rather ask about it than take it as a refusal.C1 · #3366
• Let us put our cards on the table and say which limits each of us considers non-negotiable.C1 · #3367
• I will take up the gauntlet if the challenge is to prepare a better example rather than compete to have the last word.C1 · #3368
• Let us keep in the back of our minds that today's arrangements are based on a plan that may still change.C1 · #3369
• This is the last chance to correct the participant list, because we will print the badges tomorrow.C1 · #3370
• The visibility of a task should not determine recognition of the contribution; some essential work takes place before participants arrive.C1 · #3371
• A new person may need the purpose of a task explained even if they can carry out all the described actions without difficulty.C1 · #3372
• The thanks will be more specific if we explain how someone's help made other people's work easier.C1 · #3373
• Let us not expand a volunteer's role without discussion merely because they handled the first task efficiently.C1 · #3374
• An assessment of cooperation should take the availability of information and support into account, not just the final result.C1 · #3375
• The date a scan was added should be distinguished from the date the document was created; otherwise the description may suggest the wrong chronology.C1 · #3451
• We do not know who took this photograph, so rather than attributing it to the collection's owner, let us mark its authorship as unknown.C1 · #3452
• Merging two folders will make searching easier as long as we retain information about which collection each file came from.C1 · #3453
• Let us not fill in an illegible passage from memory without indicating that it is a proposed reconstruction rather than a reading of the original.C1 · #3454
• Removing a duplicate file should not remove the note that two people independently supplied the same material.C1 · #3455
• In the summary, let us separate comments about the idea itself from objections to the way it was presented.C1 · #3456
• Repeated requests for evening meetings point to a problem with the timing, but do not yet explain all the reasons for non-attendance.C1 · #3457
• We cannot present this comment as the residents' shared position when only one participant made it.C1 · #3458
• If someone asks to remain anonymous, the description of the situation should also be checked for details that could identify them.C1 · #3459
• Let us propose a separate date for answering unresolved questions so that the lack of an answer today does not mean the matter is closed.C1 · #3460
• The request to play this passage more lightly concerned how it was performed, not automatically a reduction in tempo.C1 · #3461
• Before treating the difference as a mistake, let us check whether everyone is using the same edition of the score.C1 · #3462
• I am not trying to impose my own interpretation; I only need to know which changes we agreed on together and which remain proposals.C1 · #3463
• Let us repeat the entry after the rest because practising the whole piece from the beginning makes it harder to focus on that particular point.C1 · #3464
• I will write the instruction beside the relevant bar so that at the next rehearsal I do not confuse it with a comment on another passage.C1 · #3465
• We can turn a blind eye to minor irregularities in the first mock-up, but not to the absence of the element we were meant to test.C1 · #3466
• We have been given the green light to prepare a trial, which does not yet mean approval for the whole project.C1 · #3467
• Let us not push our luck by asking for another favour before we have fulfilled our own part of the agreement.C1 · #3468
• After a short break, the team got a second wind and returned to the task with a clear plan.C1 · #3469
• Let us not make a mountain out of a molehill: a wrong page number can be corrected without rejecting the whole report.C1 · #3470
• The exercise proved more difficult than the description suggested, so in the next edition I would allow more time for an introductory example.C1 · #3471
• The fact that I spoke more often does not in itself show a greater contribution; some of the work took place outside the group discussion.C1 · #3472
• I would rather receive one thoroughly explained comment than a list of assessments that do not tell me what I can change.C1 · #3473
• At the next allocation of roles, I will try a different task to see whether my current preference comes from experience or habit.C1 · #3474
• Not every comment has to lead to a change in the programme; some simply reveal different participant needs.C1 · #3475
• 'Participated in the project' is more accurate than 'led the project' if his role was to advise on one stage.C1 · #3551
• Let us put the collaboration dates beside the relevant tasks so that the reader does not assume they were all performed at the same time.C1 · #3552
• Let us not reduce a team achievement to one person's individual success simply because the biography needs to be concise.C1 · #3553
• If the role's name means little to the reader, it is better to add one example of a responsibility than another general title.C1 · #3554
• This information describes a planned activity, so placing it among completed projects would suggest experience that has not yet been gained.C1 · #3555
• Giving only a time without a time zone is not enough when participants read the invitation in different time zones.C1 · #3556
• Let us agree which messages need a reply the same day and which can be discussed at the next joint review.C1 · #3557
• The brief status 'done' is ambiguous if it is unclear whether the material has been prepared, checked or already shared with its audience.C1 · #3558
• Reporting an obstacle should not sound like asking permission to do nothing; let us add what we need in order to continue working.C1 · #3559
• If the conversation moves to another channel, let us leave a note in the original thread about where the subsequent arrangements can be found.C1 · #3560
• A literal translation of this expression sounds like an order even though in the original it functions as a polite invitation to talk.C1 · #3561
• Choosing a more formal form should not turn a request for information into a demand for an immediate decision.C1 · #3562
• Let us preserve the message's warm tone without adding a promise of further help that the sender did not make.C1 · #3563
• This shortening removes the information about a possible delay, making it sound more definite than the original version.C1 · #3564
• Let us check whether the polite expression suits the relationship between the people rather than assessing its naturalness without reference to the situation.C1 · #3565
• The idea fell on fertile ground because it addressed a need that participants had mentioned at several previous meetings.C1 · #3566
• We are on the right track towards an agreement, but we still need to decide who will do the final part of the task.C1 · #3567
• I am not trying to catch you out; I am only checking whether your proposal concerned one meeting or the whole series.C1 · #3568
• Let us put it plainly: without an additional facilitator, we cannot run two workshops at the same time.C1 · #3569
• If we spend the whole week just putting out fires, we need time to remove the cause of the recurring problems.C1 · #3570
• Explaining one essential term at the beginning may save interruptions later, but I do not want to turn the introduction into a separate lecture.C1 · #3571
• If I have to shorten the talk, I will first drop the second example rather than the explanation of what the first one demonstrates.C1 · #3572
• Questions submitted in advance will help me choose what to emphasise, but that does not mean each one will become a separate item in the programme.C1 · #3573
• Let us not speak faster just to fit in every slide; let us choose those without which the main point would be unclear.C1 · #3574
• On the final slide, I will separate the conclusion from the discussion question so that the audience knows what I present as a result and what invites further conversation.C1 · #3575