Skip to main content

differences - "I think ..." or "In my opinion..." or "From my point of view..."


If I want to express my opinion about something, what's the most correct form? What are the differences? What is more formal and what more colloquial? For example, in Italian, nobody says In my opinion..., but My opinion is...



Answer



As FumbleFingers commented, none of I think … or In my opinion… or From my point of view… is as formal as In the opinion of the author. That aside, I think you have them listed in very-slightly-increasing order of formality.


More important than any differences in formality are differences in nuance and meaning. I think … may be seen as lighter-weight, more off-the-cuff, than In my opinion…, while From my point of view… may be seen as introducing a personal viewpoint or preference, possibly less objective than for either of the other phrases.


If you seek less formal expressions, consider It seems to me …, It appears that …, Apparently, …, Evidently, …, It sure looks like …. But of course for formal phrasing, rather than I think plus a conclusion, instead give a supporting argument or reason, followed by the word hence, followed by a conclusion.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more