What are some different ways in English to say “I understand” or “I agree?” Let’s say you agree with someone’s opinion or at least you want to let them know that you understand why they think this way even if you don’t agree. Of course, the most straightforward and obvious way is to say “I agree” or “I understand.”
But there are other common expressions that many people use and today I am going to share some of them with you. Knowing them will help you diversify your speech and understand others when they use these expressions. Ok, let’s dive into these phrases.
I hear you
The first one is “I hear you.” This doesn’t mean that you literally hear the person, but that you understand their point of view. You can use this expression when you agree with the other person, but you can also say it even if you don’t share the same opinion.
For example, if your friend says, “Gosh, I’m so tired, I definitely need a vacation,” you can answer, “Yeah, I hear you.”
Or let’s say your partner says, “This old truck is driving me nuts. We should buy a new car.” You can say, “Honey, I hear you, but we just can’t afford it right now.” This means that you do understand the other person’s wishes, but you are still not fully on board with the decision.
I see
The next expression is “I see.”
Again, this doesn’t mean that you are literally able to see the person in front of you, but that you understand what they are saying. It basically means “I get it.”
Let’s look at this scenario: You were supposed to turn in your homework last night, but you didn’t because you lost your Internet connection. You go to the professor and tell her, “I’m sorry I missed the deadline, but I lost my Internet connection.” She can say, “I see. Then you have time until noon today to submit it.”
I see where you are coming from
There are also different variations of this expression. For example, if you want to tell the other person that you understand their point of view, but you still disagree, you can say “I see where you are coming from, but I still think…” and you can finish up your sentence. Again, this has nothing to do with where the other person actually comes from. It means that you understand the reason behind their thinking, but you don’t share their opinion.
Let’s look at this conversation between an employee and his manager: The employee is unhappy that he was overlooked and another, more junior employee was promoted. He says: “I’ve had 10 years of experience and have been loyal to the company. I deserve to be promoted.” The manager responds: “I see where you’re coming from, but I respectfully disagree. I’d be more than happy to sit and discuss this with you.” The manager means that he understands the other person’s point of view, but he still has a different opinion.
I’m with you
The next phrase you can tell someone when you agree with them is “I’m with you.” Of course, this again doesn’t mean that you are physically next to that person. It just means that you share their opinion. You can say only “I’m with you” or you can say “I’m with you on this” or “I’m with you on that.”
For example, let’s say you go to work or school and one of your coworkers or friends says, “I’m so tired. Why do we have to start work so early?” Instead of saying “I agree,” you can say, “I’m with you” or “I’m with you on this one.”
Of course, you can also say “I hear you.” The good thing about these expressions is that you can use them interchangeably many times.
Fair enough
Another phrase you can use to express that something sounds reasonable is “fair enough.” For example, let’s say you are meeting a friend to study together, but she tells you that she’s hungry and would like to grab a bite first. You can answer “Fair enough, but let’s make it quick because we have a lot of material to go over for the test.”
This is not a phrase that you’d want to use when you strongly agree though. If you also feel very hungry and want to grab some lunch too, when your friend tells you she’s hungry, you can say instead, “I hear you, I didn’t have any time to eat either.”
You are preaching to the choir
The next expression is “You are preaching to the choir.”
You can use this one to tell someone that you absolutely agree with them, and they don’t have to try to convince you because you are already convinced.
For example, imagine you and your friend have the same political views, but he still goes on and on about how important it is to vote for a certain candidate. But the thing is, you were planning to vote for that candidate anyway. In this case, you can tell your friend, “Listen, you are preaching to the choir.”
I don’t disagree with you
The next phrase is “I don’t disagree with you.” Honestly, this one was a little confusing for me in the beginning because of the double negative – don’t and disagree. If you think about it logically, “I don’t disagree” means “I agree.” But in reality, if someone tells you that they don’t disagree with you, it means that they don’t really agree with you a hundred percent. They might partially agree with what you are saying, but by using this phrase, they just don’t want to be too blunt. You can use this expression when you want to communicate to someone that you don’t really agree with them, but you still see their point of view.
I can’t agree more
The next expression is I can’t agree more. Don’t let this one confuse you because of the negative can’t. It actually means that the person agrees with you completely.
Practice
Now let’s have some fun and practice a little. To take the full benefit of this section, watch the video if you haven’t already done it. There I give you a sentence and you can answer with one of these expressions. Later in the video, I also give you the answers.
Below is a written version of this practice. Fill in the blanks in each of the dialogues below. Remember that many times you can choose more than one of these phrases.
Ok, here you go:
- I think this restaurant looks horrible.
- ________________. Let’s go somewhere else.
- You definitely need to take this job. It’s the best you can do for your future career.
- Listen, ________________.
- I’m sorry I didn’t come to your party last week. My boss asked me to help her, and I just couldn’t say no.
- ________________, but at least a phone call would’ve been nice.
- I’m tired. I couldn’t sleep last night.
- ________________. I woke up in the middle of the night as well and couldn’t go back to sleep.
- The food in this restaurant is delicious, but the service is terrible.
- ________________. I think I won’t be coming here anymore.
- The students are making many grammar mistakes. We need to add more drills.
- ________________, but not everyone finds drills beneficial.
- I can’t lower the price any more than that. I think that 200 dollars is quite reasonable.
- ________________. Can I pay you at the end of the week?
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Did you know all of the phrases above? If you recall another phrase to agree with someone and you didn’t find it in this post, put it in the comments section.
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