How to agree in English – 12 different ways

In this lesson we look at how to agree in English and we’ll spice up your vocabulary with 12 different words and phrases. We’ll show you common words and phrases in action and explain what they mean.

If someone gives an opinion or makes a suggestion that we like, we can say ‘I agree with you’. This phrase is clear, but be careful. If you use it too often, you might sound a little formal and unnatural. In everyday conversation, we signal agreement in lots of other ways that are easy to learn.

We’ll also look at some very common mistakes like ‘I am agree’ so you know what NOT to say as well. So start watching now to to learn how to agree in English.

Click here to learn more common everyday English expressions.
Click here to see more short and simple English conversations.

How to agree in English

How many ways can you think of to say ‘I agree’? In this lesson we’re going to spice up your English with different phrases and we’ll fix some common mistakes.
If someone gives an opinion or makes a suggestion that we like, we can say ‘I agree’. Let’s see the phrase in action.

You know, I think we should buy a big new camera.
Oh what a good idea!
We want one with high resolution.
I agree.
Very high resolution.
Yes, you’re right.
And we want one that films in slow motion.
Oh yes, I agree with you. You always have such wonderful ideas. Wake up. Wake up. Did you fall asleep again, Jay?
Err no, no.
Because we need to talk about the equipment.
Oh right. I think we should buy a big new camera.
What? That’s a terrible idea.

So in Jay’s dream, you heard me agreeing several times. Now, I have a question. Is this phrase correct too? NO!!! And what about this one? NO!!! Agree is a verb in English, not an adjective. To make questions and negatives use ‘do’. So ‘Do you agree?’ or ‘I don’t agree.’
In many languages the word for ‘agree’ can be a verb AND an adjective. Think about it. If you translate, can you say ‘I am agree’ in your language? In English you can’t because agree is always a verb, so we don’t use it with the verb ‘be’.
However, the word agree does have an adjective form in English. See if you can spot it.

So are we all agreed?
Uhuh.

Did you catch it?

So are we all agreed?
Uhuh.

So in this question agreed, with a d, is an adjective and we use the verb ‘be’. But this is an unusual thing to say. You’ll only hear it in very formal situations, maybe a business meeting but only if it’s very formal. I don’t think you need it, so let’s forget it.
Just remember, ‘agree’ is a verb. Make questions and negatives with do.
Now, while we’re talking about mistakes, there are some other things I’ve heard students say that don’t work in English.
They’re all translations from other languages. Don’t say them because they’re all wrong in English! Let’s throw them out too and talk about things you CAN say. ‘I agree’. This phrase is very clear, but be careful not to use it too much. Students often overuse it so they sound a little formal and unnatural. In normal conversation, English speakers will signal agreement in lots of other ways, often more informal ways, so let’s look at some in a conversation. While you watch, see how many agreement phrases you can spot.

OK. The 10 best old movies. Let’s write a list.
Yes.
Yeah!
How about ‘The Godfather’?
Definitely. It’s the best.
Absolutely. Write it down. And ‘Star Wars’.
Oh totally!
You bet.
May the force be with you.
Hey, ‘ET’. That was a fantastic movie.
You’re right.
You can say that again. Now what about an Alfred Hitchcock movie?
He made such scary movies.
Exactly!
You’re dead right there. Write down ‘Psycho’.
Uhuh.
And ‘The Terminator’.
‘The Terminator’?
Arnold Schwarteznegger. I’ll be back…

In that conversation we signaled agreement in eleven different ways. Yes, eleven! How many did you spot?
Let’s go through them. The most common way to show you agree in English is to say yes, or something like it.

Yes.
Yeah.
Uhuh.

So that’s easy. And of course you can say people are correct or right.

You’re right.
You’re dead right there.

Notice the word dead here. In many situations dead means ‘not alive’. For example, a dead flower. But in other situations dead can mean completely or exactly. So dead silence, is complete silence. If something is dead centre it means it’s exactly in the middle. And if you say ‘you’re dead right’ it means you’re exactly or completely right.
There are other ways to say this:

Exactly!
Definitely!
Totally!
Absolutely!

You can use all these words to add emphasis and indicate you think statements are completely correct and accurate.
Now, what about this idiom?

You can say that again.

It means you’re so completely right, you can repeat it. I don’t know why repeating it helps, but it’s just something we say. And just one more expression.

You bet.

‘Bet’ is an interesting word. It can mean to gamble, so to risk money on a race or something. We might bet money on a horse we think is going to win, or bet money at a casino. But in this expression it just means ‘You’re right’. It’s informal and we say it when we want to emphasize that someone has made a good suggestion.
So these expressions are all very positive ways to signal we agree. They short and easy to learn and they’re going to make your English more natural and colloquial.
Now what about if we don’t agree? Well, that’s more complicated because people don’t like to disagree in English, or in any language. Disagreements can damage relationships, so we have to overcome that problem. We’re working on another video about that so make sure you subscribe to this channel so you don’t miss it.
If you’ve enjoyed this video please share it with a friend and why not write and tell us what your favourite old movie is.
It’s the terminator, right?
Goodbye everyone.
We’ll be back, next week.
Click here to learn more common everyday English expressions.
Click here to see more short and simple English conversations.