Agree on sentences using the hedging/ generalising phrases
Choose one of the phrases below and try to find a sentence that you can both agree really matches that expression. The sentences can’t just about the people in your group or about people you know who other people in the class won’t be aware of such as your family, but should instead be wider generalisations about people, places, things, etc.
1. a considerable/ substantial amount/ number
2. a considerable/ substantial minority/ percentage/ proportion
3. a couple of
4. a good amount/ number
5. a great amount/ number
6. a notable exception is…
7. a small fraction/ percentage/ proportion
8. a small amount/ number
9. a tiny minority
10. a tiny amount/ number
11. a vast amount/ number
12. a very large amount/ number
13. a very large proportion
14. a very limited amount/ number
15. absolutely all
16. almost certainly
17. almost everywhere
18. almost/ nearly/ practically/ virtually all
19. almost certainly
20. Although it’s often the case that…
21. apart from
22. but there are obvious exceptions such as…
23. by no means all
24. complete consensus
25. conclusively proven
26. confidently predict
27. convincing argument
28. could possibly
29. could potentially
30. demonstrably false
31. except for
32. fairly common
33. fairly often
34. hardly ever
35. has been established
36. If we ignore… (for a moment),…
37. in general
38. in very many places
39. It’s impossible to be precise, but…
40. just over
41. leading authorities
42. nearly everyone
43. not so much
44. nowhere near all
45. oversimplification
46. quite a lot
47. really must
48. tend to
49. the odds are
50. The stereotype… has quite a lot of truth in it.
51. the vast majority
52. there is a great chance
53. there is next to no chance
54. there is very little chance
55. unconvincing claim
56. unjustified assumption
57. very few
58. very many
59. very probably
60. very rarely
61. We can safely assume…
62. well-documented
63. While it’s generally true that…,…
64. under some/ special circumstances
65. certainly/ definitely not
66. expert opinion suggests
67. There is not yet definitive proof of…
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