Agree means to have the same opinion. If we agree with someone or something, then we have the same opinion as them. In other words, we think that what they think or say is correct.
When we are having a conversation with other people, we often agree or disagree with what they say. So, it is important for us to know expressions and sentence patterns for agreeing.
There are many short expressions that we can use to show that we agree.
- That’s right.
- Absolutely!
- Exactly!
- I agree.
- I agree with you.
- I think you are right.
- Yes, I think so too.
- I see what you mean.
- That is a good point.
- That’s exactly how I fell.
- That is what I think too.
- I agree with you 100%.
- I couldn’t agree more.
(=I agree 100%.) - You could say that again!
(used when emphasizing)
We can use the verb “agree” with the following:
1. with + person/thing
- I agree with Tim.
- He agrees with Sue.
- They agree with the newspaper.
2. about + (issue/topic)
- I agree with Tim about everything.
- He agrees with Sue about global warming.
- We agree about how to raise our children.
3. that + (statement)
- I agree with Tim that we should sell the business.
- He agrees with the report that global warming is caused by humans.
- I agree that it is not important.
- We agree that he should be fired.
4. to + verb
- She agreed to join us.
- They agreed to donate money.
- I agreed to help them.
- He will agree to come if we ask him nicely.
Here are some other sentence patterns that we can use when we agree with an idea or action. We use these to show that we support some action or cause.
- I am for…
- I support…
- I am in favor of…
Remember that “agree” is a verb.
I am agree.- I agree.
- I disagree = I do not agree.
Remember that we will usually have to explain why we agree. So, the sentences that we study in this lesson are just the beginning.
- I agree that we should advertise online instead of in a newspaper. Our target market is young men and women under 30 years old. Most young people do not read traditional newspapers. They spend most of their time and get most of their news online. Therefore, it would be much more effective to advertise online
Also, we can use “agree” in other verb tenses depending on what we are talking about.
- I used to agree with that, but now I think it is wrong.
- She agreed to speak at the conference, but we canceled at the last minute.
- Do you think he will agree with us?
What should we say if we kind of agree but also kind of disagree?
We can use these sentence patterns when we partially agree with something or someone.
1. I see what you mean, but…
- I see what you mean, but I think it will be too expensive.
2. I partially agree with you, but…
- I agree with that we need more workers, but we just don’t have enough money to do it right now.
3. That/It is partly true, but…
- It is partly true that global warming is caused by humans, but we do not know for sure if that is the only reason that the Earth’s temperature is rising.
4. I see your point, but…
- I see your point, but raising taxes is not a good way to solve this problem.
5. I agree with most of what you said, but are you sure about/that…?
- I agree with most of what you said, but are you sure that we need to spend this much on advertising?
Sometimes we will never be able to agree with somebody or make them agree with us. When this happens, it is best to stop talking about the issue. We can use these expressions to move on to a new topic.
- Let’s agree to disagree.
- Let’s talk about something else.
- How about we talk about something else?
- I guess we will have to agree to disagree.
Use this free English lesson to help you take your English skills to the next level. There are certain situations when the language that you learned in this English lesson can be very useful. Try to use one of these phrases or expressions the next time you speak English.
