Sometimes we say things that other people don't understand, or we give the wrong impression.
This is an example conversation where one person says something that the other person thinks is strange.
LUIZ: "English is a very easy language to learn."
IRENE: "What do you mean?"
LUIZ: "Well, what I meant to say was that it is easy if you practise every day."
IRENE: "Oh, right."
Rephrasing expressions
"What I meant to say was…"
"Let me rephrase that…"
"Let me put this another way…"
"Perhaps I'm not making myself clear…"
Back to the beginning
If you're explaining something, and you realise that the other person doesn't understand, you can use the following phrases:
"If we go back to the beginning…"
"The basic idea is…"
"One way of looking at it is…"
"Another way of looking at it is…"
If you forget the English word
If you forget the word you want to use, you can say:
"I can't find the word I'm looking for…"
"I'm not sure that this is the right word, but…"
"What I want to say is…"
Speaking Tip
Don't be afraid to repeat what you're saying, especially if you can do it in a slightly different way.
8 comments on “Rephrasing”
Thats really very good and helpful site for ESL.
I get many benefit from here.
thanx for the information. It is useful for me. Thank you very much
This is one of the powerful and useful website i have ever seen because I learned a great deal about the written and the spoken English
Thank you very much
See more about rephrasing at:
http://hubpages.com/hub/English-Language-for-Medium-Learners
This website is really useful and helpful
Thanks for your effort and help
Hai.
Would you help me to explain "other and another"
How and when to using other and another.
Thanks for your help.
Other + plural noun: "Other people think…"
Another + singular noun: "Another person said…"
A million thanks. You are the best!
