I’d rather not say…

Existem situações nas quais você não quer se posicionar, ou não entende sobre o assunto! Aprenda nesta lição como expressar isso em inglês.

1 . Ouça a gravação em que as pessoas estão reclamando sobre alguns sons irritantes. Na sua opinião, o que está sendo descrito em cada exemplo. Escolha a partir das opções abaixo.

somebody whistling | somebody snoring | loud music | an aeroplane | a dog | a clock

2 . Ouça a gravação. Em cada diálogo, a primeira pessoa tentará mudar a opinião da outra. Ouça com atenção o que elas dizem e reordene as palavras em itálico para escrever o início de cada frase.

1 think / you / don’t / But it will begin to improve now that there is stricter pollution control?

2 the / hand / but / other / on / Yes, it’s quite a logical language with strict rules.

3 I / mean / not, / Surely inflation is down and employment figures are up.

4 way / another / of / looking / But / it / at would be to say that it is controlling us rather than the other way round.

5 might / I / think / say / Well, / that / others it’s got out of hand and we should do something about it.

6 like / it / But / at / this, / look it helps us to experience and understand other people and other cultures

Do you know?

● Podemos usar as seguintes frases ou expressões quando não temos uma opinião formada sobre um assunto:

I really couldn’t say.
I don’t have any strong feelings about …
I can’t say I have any views on the subject. (formal)
It makes no difference to me. (informal)

● Podemos usar as seguintes frases ou expressões quando não queremos dar opinião:

I’d rather not say.
I’d prefer not to say anything.
I’m afraid I can’t comment on that. (formal)
Can’t say, really. (informal)

3 . Relacione cada uma das perguntas (1–6) com uma das respostas (a–f).

 1 I think our Prime Minister should resign, don’t you?

 2 Do you think you’ll get promoted?

 3 Rob is so rude, isn’t he?

 4 Do you think Jan was wrong, losing her temper like that?

 5 Mr Robertson, there are rumours that the company is going to close down. Is this true?

 6 Mobile phones are so annoying, aren’t they?

 a) I’d rather not say. Maybe he’s just shy.

 b) I’m afraid I can’t comment on that until I speak to the board of directors.

 c) It makes no difference to me. I’m quite happy doing what I’m doing.

 d) Can’t say, really. She must have had her reasons.

 e) I don’t have any strong feelings about them, really. They’re just another useful device to me.

 f) I really couldn’t say. I’ve never been interested in politics.

4 . Ouça os diálogos na gravação. Em seguida, determine se a segunda pessoa (a) diz que não tem uma opinião; (b) diz que não quer dar opinião ou (c) tenta mudar a opinião do outro.

20 minutes+

Observe as frases abaixo que mostram a opinião de alguém sobre assuntos diferentes. Tente mudar cada opinião usando as expressões do exercício 2. Forneça razões convincentes.

1 I hate the weather in winter.

2 Men work harder than women, so they should be paid more.

3 In my opinion, smoking should be banned in all public places.

4 There’s nothing good on television any more.

5 Using mobile phones on trains should be banned.

Word Bank

controls (substantivo) = controles, restrições

culture (substantivo) = cultura

current (adjetivo) = atual

device (substantivo) = aparelho, dispositivo

employment (substantivo) = emprego

logical (adjetivo) = lógico

political (adjetivo) = político

politics (substantivo) = política

pollution (substantivo) = poluição

strict (adjetivo) = rígido

Respostas:

Exercício 1

1 a clock

2 an aeroplane

3 a dog

4 somebody whistling

5 somebody snoring

6 loud music

Exercício 2

1 But don’t you think

2 Yes, but on the other hand

3 Surely not, I mean

4 But another way of looking at it

5 Well, I think others might say that

6 But look at it like this

Exercício 3

1 f

2 c

3 a

4 d

5 b

6 e

Exercício 4

1 c

2 b

3 a

4 a

5 c

20 minutes+

Model answers:

1 Yes, but on the other hand there are lots of good sporting activities in winter.

2 Surely not, I mean women work really hard too.

3 But don’t you think it will mean that places like restaurants and nightclubs lose business?

4 Well, I think others might say that there’s lots of good drama and soaps on at the moment.

5 But look at it like this, people might need their mobile phones on trains, especially in an emergency or to get a lift home.