Phrases and practice

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

• I would not read 'I admire your courage' as unqualified praise here; the tone suggests reservations about the decision itself.C2 · #2401
• Since the matter is supposedly so obvious, I will take the liberty of asking you to explain that one step which keeps being left out.C2 · #2402
• I would not be opposed to reconsidering the proposal, provided we do not present that as a withdrawal of our earlier reservations.C2 · #2403
• We can postpone the decision without publicly identifying whose doubts prompted the group to reconsider.C2 · #2404
• I would take that enthusiastic recommendation with a pinch of salt: its author only saw a carefully selected demonstration.C2 · #2405
• The choir metaphor should not obscure the fact that the participants have not yet agreed who sets the tone for their joint presentation.C2 · #2406
• The rest written in the score is part of the piece; at this point, silence does not indicate that the performer has forgotten the notes.C2 · #2407
• According to the stage directions, this aside is audible to the audience, but the other characters are not meant to react to it.C2 · #2408
• In the original, the joke juxtaposes a musical clef and a door key; the translation would need to recreate the wordplay, not merely name the two objects.C2 · #2409
• In this scene, the promise delivered like a slogan sounds out of character precisely because the character usually avoids stock phrases.C2 · #2410
• A title given to a painting many years later may guide its reception, but that does not make it evidence of the painter's original intention.C2 · #2411
• When judging the character's choice from today's perspective, it is easy to attribute to her knowledge she could not have had at the time described.C2 · #2412
• Preserving the ambiguity of the translation here requires more than leaving a word unexplained: both available interpretations need to be recreated.C2 · #2413
• An editorial change from past to present tense makes the description more vivid, but may also blur the boundary between a memory and the narrator's commentary.C2 · #2414
• Quotation marks around this expression may signal the author's distance from it; removing them could therefore change the meaning, not just the appearance of the text.C2 · #2415
• By saying 'even if the date were convenient, I would not accept the invitation', I reject the proposal irrespective of that particular condition.C2 · #2416
• May I interrupt, not to challenge your account, but to establish which stage of the event this description refers to.C2 · #2417
• An answer about the number of people served does not yet address the reported experience of someone who was overlooked.C2 · #2418
• I would rather state the limits of my certainty now than later pretend that a cautious supposition was a firm assurance from the outset.C2 · #2419
• When I ask for a little space, I mean the freedom to make a decision, not necessarily physical distance from you.C2 · #2420
• Two solutions may produce the same result yet require quite different effort from the user; agreement between the answers alone will not capture that difference.C2 · #2421
• The slogan 'a return to the place's former character' needs clarification about whose memory and which period we are taking as our reference point.C2 · #2422
• If we cite an exception to illustrate a rule's flexibility, we should not at the same time present that rule as having no exceptions.C2 · #2423
• The question sounds rhetorical, but if we treat it as a genuine request for information, the conversation may take a different course.C2 · #2424
• I am not questioning the validity of the comparison within its stated scope; I am questioning the extension of its conclusion to situations it did not cover.C2 · #2425
• The quotation cut off before the reservation sounds like unconditional support, although the full statement makes that support depend on a specific condition.C2 · #2526
• The ellipsis marks an omitted part of the quotation here, not the speaker's hesitation; the notation therefore gives no grounds for attributing an uncertain tone to them.C2 · #2527
• A joint signature beneath the introduction does not mean that statements in individually signed chapters should be attributed to every co-author.C2 · #2528
• The phrase 'not without reason' suggests that a justification exists, but does not supply it; using the phrase alone does not explain what that reason was.C2 · #2529
• When you say 'for now, at least we know where to start', you acknowledge one step forward without yet claiming that the whole matter is under control.C2 · #2530
• I object less to the idea itself than to the way it was presented as the only reasonable way forward.C2 · #2531
• After the paragraph changes, the pronoun 'they' may refer to a different group, so the similar wording of the two sentences is not enough to assign the same actors to both.C2 · #2532
• The question 'who, if not us?' appeals to a sense of shared responsibility, but does not in itself prove that other people could not help.C2 · #2533
• I would not go so far as to say that the trial failed; I would say instead that it did not resolve the question it was intended to address.C2 · #2534
• What a convenient moment to change the arrangements: everyone has just started working according to the previous version.C2 · #2535
• The curator displays selected sketches beside the finished painting; the juxtaposition reveals one stage of the work, not necessarily every direction the artist considered.C2 · #2536
• Modernising the spelling makes reading easier, but if the intervention is not disclosed, the reader may mistake the contemporary spelling for a feature of the original.C2 · #2537
• A recipe adapted to a modern pantry may preserve the idea of the dish without faithfully reproducing every ingredient and technique of the older version.C2 · #2538
• In the original, the word for a chess move recurs as an allusion to the character's decision; a literal translation must therefore also be checked for that connection.C2 · #2539
• The question 'can I open this?' can be a request for permission rather than a test of ability; the answer should take account of what the speaker needs in that situation.C2 · #2540
• Agreement between two employees' statements does not yet establish the whole team's position, especially when neither has been authorised to represent it.C2 · #2541
• Agreement on a priority rule does not yet settle the dispute over whether the person in question meets the criterion that activates that rule.C2 · #2542
• Merely calling an arrangement temporary leaves open the question of when it ends; we need to specify not only that it can change, but also how that change will be agreed.C2 · #2543
• The organisers' good intentions may explain their choice of solution, but do not replace checking whether it actually made participation easier for those invited.C2 · #2544
• We can describe the reason for the deviation without presenting it as a new rule; otherwise, later readers of the note may treat the exceptional permission as standard practice.C2 · #2545
• Calling an objection 'mere emotion' does not answer the argument it contains; assessing the tone and assessing the justification require separate consideration.C2 · #2546
• I am withholding an answer because the question assumes a decision I have not made; I would first like to clarify that assumption.C2 · #2547
• The assurance 'no fewer than ten places' sets a lower bound, but does not say how many additional people will actually fit in the room.C2 · #2548
• I have not yet had time to read the instructions, let alone assess their usefulness; it would therefore be premature to attribute a firm opinion to me already.C2 · #2549
• The difference between caution and avoiding an answer is not always visible in a single sentence; let us ask what the speaker needs in order to clarify their position.C2 · #2550
• When you say 'as we all know', you present an assumption as shared knowledge; I would first like to check whether we actually share it within this group.C2 · #2651
• The remark 'quite good for a first attempt' can express encouragement while lowering the benchmark; how it is received also depends on the tone and the speakers' relationship.C2 · #2652
• The reply 'I will see what can be done' signals a willingness to explore the possibilities, but without further clarification it is not a promise of a specific outcome.C2 · #2653
• Let us not respond to 'why were you late again?' as though repetition were already established; the other person may reasonably challenge the word 'again' itself.C2 · #2654
• A request for silence may concern that particular moment rather than rejecting the conversation itself; let us ask when we can return to it instead of giving the refusal a broader meaning.C2 · #2655
• The narrator knows how the story ends, while the character acts without that knowledge; judging the character's choices from the perspective of the ending obscures that difference.C2 · #2656
• A recurring object does not necessarily carry the same meaning each time; its function may change with the character's perspective.C2 · #2657
• The irony of this scene rests on the contrast between the solemn tone and the trivial reason for the dispute, so overemphasising the joke could weaken the intended effect.C2 · #2658
• A gap in the narrative allows several interpretations, but does not make all of them equally well supported; let us check which ones are grounded in the remaining scenes.C2 · #2659
• The adaptation moves the conflict into the present while preserving the relationships between the characters; a similar plot does not, however, imply identical social implications.C2 · #2660
• Changing 'not all proposals were rejected' to 'all proposals were not rejected' may make the scope of negation unclear; it is better to state explicitly that at least one was not rejected.C2 · #2661
• If the parenthetical note comes from the editor, let us mark that clearly; otherwise the reader may attribute the addition to the person being quoted.C2 · #2662
• The sentence 'only Anna checked two pages' restricts the set of people, whereas 'Anna checked only two pages' restricts the amount of material checked.C2 · #2663
• When shortening the note, let us retain 'according to the organisers', because removing it would turn a report of someone else's assessment into an apparently undisputed editorial statement.C2 · #2664
• The phrase 'not because of a lack of time' rules out one specified reason, but does not by itself establish the actual reason for the refusal.C2 · #2665
• Agreement to try the solution for a week does not settle what we will do when the trial ends; the conditions for continued use remain to be agreed.C2 · #2666
• If an arrangement applies 'unless new circumstances arise', let us identify the kinds of circumstances that justify reopening the discussion rather than leaving that condition unlimited.C2 · #2667
• Agreeing a minimum number of entries does not by itself specify their maximum number; an upper limit requires a separate agreement.C2 · #2668
• By accepting your correction to one point, I am not yet confirming the entire note; please do not present that partial agreement as approval of every arrangement.C2 · #2669
• We can record agreement on the next step while retaining different justifications; acting together does not require presenting both sides' motives as identical.C2 · #2670
• The absence of complaints after the change does not by itself establish whether the problem disappeared or people stopped reporting it; we also need a way to check their experiences.C2 · #2671
• The participant's statement describes their experience on one occasion; before calling it typical, let us check how conditions varied at other meetings.C2 · #2672
• Two people can reach the same answer by different routes, so agreement in the result is not enough to reconstruct their reasoning.C2 · #2673
• The word 'yet' in 'we have not made a decision yet' may suggest an expectation of a later decision, but does not set its date.C2 · #2674
• Asking who was present during the conversation helps identify the sources of the accounts, but does not by itself establish whether each account matches what happened.C2 · #2675
• My reservation concerns the effects of this proposal under the current conditions, not your ability to suggest solutions; I want that distinction to remain clear.C2 · #2776
• The invitation 'drop by if you feel like it' leaves a choice, but in a particular relationship it may be read as an expectation; it is worth checking whether declining is genuinely an option.C2 · #2777
• By saying 'I would prefer to keep the shorter version', I express a preference rather than prohibit further changes; I can reconsider it if you explain their purpose.C2 · #2778
• I accept the thanks, but I would not want my earlier concession to become an unspoken obligation to make similar concessions in the future.C2 · #2779
• A polite explanation of a refusal may make it easier to accept, but does not by itself invite negotiation over every reason given.C2 · #2780
• A memory recounted years later combines a description of an earlier event with a later assessment; it is useful to establish when the narrator speaks as a witness and when as a commentator on their own past.C2 · #2781
• We read the same gesture differently before and after the secret is revealed; our knowledge of the character changes, although the description of the gesture remains identical.C2 · #2782
• The restrained narrative tone does not prove the character's indifference; it may also arise from the chosen way of presenting an experience she does not want to name directly.C2 · #2783
• If a character's statement sounds excessively solemn in an everyday situation, let us consider the possibility of irony without automatically assigning it to every similar sentence.C2 · #2784
• The abrupt ending does not reveal what happens to the characters next; the reader can imagine it, but should distinguish that personal addition from information contained in the work.C2 · #2785
• Changing 'almost everyone had arrived' to 'everyone had almost arrived' shifts the meaning from the number of people to how close the action was to completion; similar words do not guarantee similar meaning.C2 · #2786
• The phrase 'until a new agreement is reached' ties the end of applicability to an event rather than a date; if we need a cutoff date, it must be added separately.C2 · #2787
• 'Virtually never' allows for the possibility of rare exceptions, so replacing it with 'never' may make the account more categorical than the speaker intended.C2 · #2788
• In 'after the meeting, she said she would call', the time of the statement is specified but the time of the call remains open; let us not add 'that same day' without support from the context.C2 · #2789
• The expression 'perhaps' belongs to the quoted assessment, not the editor's comment; moving it outside the quotation may change whose uncertainty we are describing.C2 · #2790
• An offer to help select materials does not yet include buying them; before listing it in the plan as a commitment to supply them, let us establish who carries out the remaining tasks.C2 · #2791
• If the two sides understand 'ready' differently, a shared deadline does not remove the disagreement; let us clarify whether it means a draft, a version for checking or material ready for use.C2 · #2792
• A jointly revised schedule should not be presented as a delay caused by one side if both sides agreed a change of scope and the associated new deadline.C2 · #2793
• The summary can state that most matters were agreed without concealing one important exception; the significance of that exception does not depend solely on the number of remaining points.C2 · #2794
• I am not opposed to discussing the proposal again, provided it is clear that we are reopening the conversation rather than accepting in advance the outcome one side expects.C2 · #2795
• The fact that participants chose the shorter version may indicate a preference for brevity, but does not by itself show whether they considered it a better explanation of the topic.C2 · #2796
• Someone's absence from a group photograph does not yet establish whether they did not attend the event or simply were not present when the photograph was taken.C2 · #2797
• A long answer can contain details without resolving the main question; let us assess its relevance to the question instead of equating length with explanation.C2 · #2798
• The change of tone in the last message may have several causes; without additional context, I do not want to treat it as a definite sign of a changed position.C2 · #2799
• Two matching accounts may be based on the same version heard from someone else, so their agreement does not necessarily amount to two independent confirmations of the event.C2 · #2800