Expressing Opinions

The Brazilian opinion sentence almost always starts with a softener. Going straight to your point sounds blunt; landing it after a "olha, na minha opinião…" sounds engaged. Here's the full ladder, from softest to firmest.

Opener	Strength	Literal sense
Eu acho que…	weak	"I think that…"
Eu diria que…	weak-soft	"I'd say that…"
Na minha opinião…	neutral	"In my opinion…"
Do meu ponto de vista…	neutral-firm	"From my point of view…"
Pra mim,…	personal-firm	"For me,…"
Tenho certeza que…	firm	"I'm sure that…"
Sem dúvida nenhuma…	firmest	"Without any doubt…"

Match the opener with its English equivalent

Pick the right softener for the tone

Cloze — fill the opinion opener

A short dialogue — Marina asks Luana about a new restaurant

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