CONVERSATION GAMBITS
Diambil dari Keller (1988)
1. Asking for
information
I’d like
to know …
I’m
interested in …
Could you
tell me …?
Do you
know …?
Could you
find out …?
Could I
ask …?
Do you
happen to know …?
2. Breaking in
Excuse me
Sorry
Excuse me
for interrupting, but …
May I
interrupt for a moment?
…, please
Certainly
3. Interupting
Game
Sorry, but
…
Excuse me
for interrupting, but …
Can I add
here that …?
I’d like
to comment on that.
Can I add
something?
Can I say
something here?
I’d like
to say something if I may
Can I ask
a question?
May I ask
something?
To return to the topic
Anyway …
In any
case …
To get
back to what I was saying …
Where was
I?
4. Getting
information on the phone
I’m
calling to find out …
I’d like
to ask …
Could you
tell me …?
I’m
calling about …
I was
wondering if you could tell me …
I wonder
if you could help me …
If you go through a
switchboard, say first:
I’d like
to talk to somebody about …
5. Actions in
order
First of
all,
Then,
Next,
After
that,
Finally,
Make sure
you …
Be careful
not to …
Remember
to …
Don’t
forget to …
6. Telling a
Story
First …
First of
all …
To begin
with …
Then …
After that
…
So …
So then …
At the end
…
Finally …
7. Listening
Excuses
First of
all …
The main
reason is …
Secondly …
With two:
The other
reason is …
With several:
Another
reason is …
Besides
that …
And on top
of that …
And
finally …
8. The Main
Thing
First of
all …
The main
thing is …
The most
important thing is …
9. The Main Problem
The
trouble is …
The
problem is …
The real
problem is …
The point
is …
The awful
thing is …
Don’t
forget that …
10. A
Surprising Fact
Start:
Do you
realize that …
Believe it
or not …
You may
not believe it, but …
It may
sound strange, but …
The
surprising thing is …
Surprisingly
…
Oddly
enough …
Funnily
enough …
End with:
Generally
…
By and
large …
As a rule
…
Normally …
Usually …
On the
whole …
11. Surprising
News
Guess
what!
Surprise!
I’ve got
news for you!
Do you
know what!
Are you
sitting down?
You’d
better sit down!
You won’t
believe this, but …
12. An
Unpleasant Thought
Actually …
The only
thing is …
To tell
you the truth …
To be
honest …
Frankly …
13. The Hidden
Truth
Frankly, I
doubt if …
Let’s face
it!
The catch
is …
The truth
of the matter is …
The real
question is …
Come on
now!
Let’s be
realistic
14. Changing
The Subject
Talking of
…
That
reminds me …
By the
way,
On before
I forget …
15. Current
Affairs
I think …
I suppose
…
I suspect
that …
I’m pretty
sure that …
I’m fairly
certain that …
It’s my
opinion that …
I’m
convinced that …
I wonder
if …
16. Guessing
I’d say …
Could it
be …
Perhaps
it’s …
I think
it’s …
It looks
like …
It’s
difficult to say, but I’d guess …
17. A
Conviction
I honestly
feel that …
I strongly
believe that …
I’m
convinced that …
Without a
doubt …
I’m
positive …
I’m
absolutely certain that …
18. Personal
Opinion
In my
opinion …
I
personally believe…
I
personally think …
I
personally feel …
Not
everyone will agree me, but …
To my mind
…
19. How something Affects You
In my
opinion …
From my
point of view, …
Well,
personally …
If I had
my way …
What I’m
more concerned with is …
In my case
…
20. Sharing a
Confidence
I’ve heard
…
They say …
Just
between you and me,
I heard on
the grapevine
This
shouldn’t be passes around, but …
Have you
heard …
Maybe I
shouldn’t say this, but …
21. How to Get
the Money
Why not …
Why don’t
you …
You could
always …
One way
would be to …
Perhaps
you could …
If I were
you, I’d …
What about
… ing
Try … ing
22. Offering a
Suggestion
Why don’t
you …
Why not …
Perhaps
you could …
Have you
thought about …
I have an
idea …
Let’s …
23. The Great Escape
Our plan
is to …
We’re
thinking of …
What we
have in mind is …
What we
plan to do is …
I’ll tell
you what we do,
What about
this for an idea …
24. Plan and
Counterplan
Why don’t
you …
You could
always …
If I were
you, I’d …
Why not …
How about
…
Try … ing.
25. Thinking about a Problem
In a case
like this …
In a
situation like this …
In this
sort of situation …
26. Emphasizing a Point
That’s
just the point.
But the
question is …
But the
real question is …
This
raises the problem of …
But can’t
you see …?
27. Adding Things
To start
with …
And
another thing …
What’s
more …
Just a
small point …
Perhaps I
should mention …
Oh, I
almost forgot …
28. Give a
Reason
And
besides …
Also …
In
addition …
What’s
more …
And
another thing …
Not to
mention the fact that …
Plus the
fact that …
Not only that, but …
29. Have You Got a Good Reason?
Starting
The reason
why …
Because …
Continuing
Because of
that …
That’s why
…
That’s the
reason why …
For this
reason …
30. Thinking Ahead
If …
If ever …
When …
Whenever …
As soon as
…
By the
time …
Unless …
31. Correcting
Yourself
What I
mean is …
What I
meant was …
Let me put
another way,
What I’m
saying is …
What I’m
trying to say is …
Don’t
misunderstand me.
If I said
that, I didn’t mean to …
Let me
rephrase what I just said.
32. Putting
the Record Straight
That’s not
what I said at all.
I’ve no
idea who told you that.
Goodness,
where did you get that idea from?
I’m afraid
that just isn’t true …
The fact
of the matter is …
Look,
let’s get this straight …
33. Popular Misconceptions
Introducing
Many
people think …
Some
people say …
You’ve
probably heard that …
It may
seem …
Linking
But in
fact,
But
actually
The truth
of the matter is …
34. We Take it
for Granted
At first
glance, it looks as if …
Many
people think that …
We take it
for granted that …
It seems
as if …
It looks
like …
But in
fact,
In
reality,
The fact
of the matter is …
But
actually,
35. Saying, ‘no’ Tactfully
Saying no
I’m not
keen on …
I don’t
particularly like …
I can’t
stand …
It’s not
my idea of …
I’d really
rather not …
A preference
I’d prefer
…
I’d really
much rather …
I’d rather
…
36. Door to door salespeople
I’m not
really interested in …
But I’m
not worried about …
I’ve got
no use for …
I’m
perfectly happy with …
37. Demanding Explanation
Can you
explain why …
Do you
mean to say …
I don’t
understand why …
Why is it
that …
How come …
Does this
mean …
38. Expressing
Your Reservation
I’m afraid
…
I don’t
see how …
But the
problem is …
Yes, but …
I doubt …
Possibly,
but …
Yes, but
the problem really is …
What I
wanted about is …
What
bothers me is …
39. Taking Thing into Consideration
Bearing in
mind …
Considering
…
If you
remember …
Allowing
for the fact that …
When you
consider that …
Responding to a compliment
Oh, thank
you very much
That’s
very kind of you
Do you
really think so?
40. Argument and Counter Argument
Reservation
Yes, but …
Yes, but
don’t forget …
That would
be great, except …
That’s
good idea, but …
Counter argument
Even so …
Even if
that is so …
That may
be so, but …
That’s
probably true, but …
Possibly,
but …
41. Seeing the Good Side
On the
other hand
But then
again …
Look at it
this way …
Anyway …
Even no …
Ok, but …
But in
long run …
Very true,
but …
To make up
for it …
42. Generalizing
Generalizing
AS a rule
…
Generally
…
Usually …
Frequent
Most of
the time …
Again and
again …
Time and
again …
Less frequent
Every so
often …
From time
to time …
Every now
and then …
43. Exception
Generalizing
In general
…
Generally
speaking …
As a rule
…
By and
large …
In my experience
…
In most
cases …
Exceptions
There are
exceptions, of course,
One
exception is,
But what
about,
But don’t
forget,
44. Generalization
Game
Generalizing
In general
…
Generally
speaking …
As a rule
…
By and
large …
In my
experience …
In most
cases …
Exceptions
There are
exceptions, of course,
One
exception is,
But what
about,
But don’t
forget,
Let’s not
forget…
45. Illustration
your Point
For
example,…
For instance,…
Take for
example …
Take the
way …
For one
thing …
To give
you an idea …
Look at
the way …
By way of
illustration …
46. What you really mean
Hesitating Phrase
Well, um …
Well let’s
see,
Mmm, I’ll
have to think about that,
Re-stating
So, what
you’re saying is …
So, what
you’re really saying is…
In other
words,
If I
understand you correctly,
So, you
mean that,…
47. Finishing Your Story
To cut a
long story short …
So, in the
end…
So, in
short …
So …
To sum up
…
All in all
…
To put the
whole thing in nutshell …
48. Right or
Wrong
Correct
That’s
right
Right
OK
Yes
Exactly
Wrong
No, I’m
afraid not
Not quite
You’re
close
I don’t
know
I’m not
sure
49. Crowd
Reaction
Agreeing
Hear!
Hear!
You’re
absolutely right
You said
it
I agree
So do it!
Neither
can I!
Disagreeing
That’s
just not true
Oh, come
on
Rubbish
Don’t give
us that!
50. Getting to
Know Someone
Agreeing
That’s
(very) true
I agree
with you there
Yes, I
know exactly what you mean
Disagreeing
Yes, but
don’t you think but
Yes, but
on other hand
I don’t
see it quite like that
51. Can I Help
You?
Can I help
you?
I’m afraid
I don’t know
I’m afraid
I can’t decide
I’m afraid
I can’t make up my mind
I’ll have
to think about it
I’m really
not sure
I think
I’ll leave it, Thank you
52. The Love
Test
Strong agreement
Of course
I would
I
certainly would
Mild agreement
I think I
would
I might
I might
consider it
I think so
Indecision
I don’t
know
I can’t
decide
I can’t
make up my mind
I’m not
sure
Mild disagreement
Probably
not
I don’t
think so
I doubt it
Strong dis agreement
Never in a
million years!
Non on
your life!
Not (even)
if you paid me!
Not for
all the tea in China!
53. I haven’t a clue
I’m afraid
I don’t know
I’m sorry
I don’t know
I haven’t
a clue
I couldn’t
tell you
I’m not
sure
Oh, It’s
slipped my mind
I’ve
forgotten
It’s no
good. I can’t remember
54. It serves you right
It serves
you right
It’s your
own fault
What did
you expect?
Perhaps
that’ll teach you
55. Analyse your Handwriting
Agreeing
I’m not
surprised
That
doesn’t surprise me
Yes, that
sounds like me
I knew it
I thought
so
Just what
I’ve always thought
Absolutely
Disagreeing
You’re
joking
You must
be joking
I don’t
believe it
No,
definitely not
Come on!
I don’t
think so
I don’t
think that’s very fair
Are you
pulling any leg?
That’s
news to me
56. Inkblots
When you are surprise
Really
Are you
joking?
Oh?
Where?
Show me
I can’t
see that
Goodness
What?
When you agree
So do I
Me too
That’s
what I thought you
But that’s
what I was going to say
57. Being
Sympathetic
Less serious news
Oh no!
What a
pity!
What a
shame,
What a
nuisance
Poor you
Very sad news
How awful!
How
terrible!
I’m really
sorry to hear that
That
must’ve been awful!
58. The Interview
Well, let
me see
Well, let
me think
I’ll have
to think about that
That’s a
good question
How shall
I put it
Let’s put
it this way
The best
way I can answer that is
Mm, that’s
a difficult question. Let me see.
59. Showing
Interest
Right
OK
Yes
And
Really
And then
Auxiliaries
Did you?
Have you?
Are you?
Were you?
Was it?
60. Are You Following me?
Repetition Gambit
Would you mind repeating that?
Sorry, I didn’t catch the last part
Sorry, you’ve loss me
Sorry, I don’t follow you
What was that again?
Checking gambits
Are you with me?
Are you still with me?
Is that clear?
OK so far?
Have you got it?
Do you understand so far?
61. Communication
Problems
Sorry, what did you say?
Sorry?
I didn’t get the bit about…
I’m sorry I can’t hear you. It’s very
bad line
Would you mind saying that again?
Could you repeat your address,
please?
Could you spell it, please?
62. Accepting a Compliment
Oh, thank you
That’s very kind of you
It’s very kind of you to say that
Do you really think so!
Thanks, I needed that
You’ve made my day!
Doha,
4 March 2019
