Direct link to YouTube video: https://youtu.be/LaOu7zlw94s
Explanation + Extra Practice Activities
🎯 18 Sentence Starters to Help You Speak English Faster
💡 What are sentence starters?
Sentence starters are words or phrases you use at the beginning of a sentence.
They help you:
- speak faster
- sound more natural
- organize your ideas
- become more fluent
👉 Instead of thinking about grammar, you can use these patterns to speak easily.
🗣️ 1. To Give Your Opinion
Use these when you want to say what you think.
- I think (that)…
→ I think this is a good idea. - I feel like…
→ I feel like he’s not happy today. - If you ask me,…
→ If you ask me, this is too expensive. - In my opinion,…
→ In my opinion, this is the best option. - To be honest,…
→ To be honest, I don’t like it.
🤔 2. To Show Uncertainty
Use these when you are not sure.
- I’m not sure…
→ I’m not sure. - I’m not sure if…
→ I’m not sure if he’s coming. - I don’t know if…
→ I don’t know if this is correct. - As far as I know,…
→ As far as I know, the store is closed.
⭐ 3. To Highlight a Positive Point
Use these to talk about something good.
- What I like is that…
→ What I like is that it’s easy to use. - The best thing is,…
→ The best thing is, it’s free.
❌ 4. To Highlight a Negative Point
Use these to talk about something bad.
- What I don’t like is that…
→ What I don’t like is that it’s too slow. - The problem is that…
→ The problem is that it’s very expensive.
🔄 5. To Change the Topic
Use these to move to a new topic.
- By the way,…
→ By the way, did you call him? - Anyway,…
→ Anyway, let’s go.
🔗 6. To Connect Related Topics
Use these when the new topic is connected.
- Speaking of…,
→ Speaking of work, how is your new job? - That reminds me,…
→ That reminds me, I need to send an email.
⚖️ 7. When One Factor Changes the Result
Use this when the answer is not fixed.
- It depends on…
→ It depends on the price.
→ It depends on how much time we have.
🎯 Final Tip
You don’t need perfect grammar to speak English well.
You need useful sentence starters.
Start using these every day, and you will:
- speak faster
- sound more natural
- become more fluent
Extra Practice Activities
📝 Practice Activities: Sentence Starters
🎯 Exercise 1: Choose the Best Sentence Starter
Choose the correct answer. (Only ONE is correct)
- “___, I don’t really like this restaurant.”
A. By the way
B. To be honest
C. Speaking of
👉 Answer: B. To be honest
- “___, we should go now. It’s getting late.”
A. Anyway
B. I feel like
C. As far as I know
👉 Answer: A. Anyway
- “___, he’s not coming today.”
A. I think
B. By the way
C. Speaking of
👉 Answer: A. I think
- “___ the weather, it might rain tomorrow.”
A. That reminds me
B. Speaking of
C. Anyway
👉 Answer: B. Speaking of
- “___, I’m not sure if this is correct.”
A. In my opinion
B. I’m not sure
C. The best thing is
👉 Answer: B. I’m not sure
- “___, it’s very easy to use.”
A. The problem is
B. What I like is that
C. Anyway
👉 Answer: B. What I like is that
- “___, it’s too expensive for me.”
A. The best thing is
B. The problem is that
C. Speaking of
👉 Answer: B. The problem is that
- “___, did you finish your homework?”
A. By the way
B. It depends on
C. I think
👉 Answer: A. By the way
🔄 Exercise 2: Fix the Mistake
Find and correct the mistake
- ❌ It depends the weather.
👉 Answer: It depends on the weather.
- ❌ I don’t know is he coming.
👉 Answer: I don’t know if he is coming.
- ❌ Speaking of, work is hard.
👉 Answer: Speaking of work, it is hard.
- ❌ The problem is it too expensive.
👉 Answer: The problem is that it’s too expensive.
🎯 Exercise 3: Choose the Best Sentence Starter
Choose the correct answer. (Only ONE is correct)
- “___, I think this plan won’t work.”
A. To be honest
B. Speaking of
C. It depends on
👉 Answer: A. To be honest
- “___, we can talk about that later. Let’s finish this first.”
A. By the way
B. Anyway
C. I feel like
👉 Answer: B. Anyway
- “___, he’s probably busy right now.”
A. I think
B. The problem is that
C. By the way
👉 Answer: A. I think
- “___ your new job, how is it going?”
A. Anyway
B. Speaking of
C. It depends on
👉 Answer: B. Speaking of
- “___, I don’t know if she understands the instructions.”
A. The best thing is
B. I’m not sure
C. In my opinion
👉 Answer: B. I’m not sure
- “___, it saves me a lot of time.”
A. What I like is that
B. The problem is that
C. The best thing is
👉 Answer: C. The best thing is
- “___, it takes too long to load.”
A. The best thing is
B. The problem is that
C. Speaking of
👉 Answer: B. The problem is that
- “___, are you free this weekend?”
A. I think
B. By the way
C. It depends on
👉 Answer: B. By the way
- “___, I feel like this is not the right time.”
A. To be honest
B. Speaking of
C. Anyway
👉 Answer: A. To be honest
- “___, we should leave earlier to avoid traffic.”
A. I feel like
B. By the way
C. It depends on
👉 Answer: A. I feel like
🔄 Exercise 4: Fix the Mistake
Find and correct the mistake
- ❌ It depends of the price.
👉 Answer: It depends on the price.
- ❌ I’m not sure is he coming.
👉 Answer: I’m not sure if he is coming.
- ❌ I feel like he is tired maybe.
👉 Answer: I feel like he is tired.
- ❌ What I like is it easy to use.
👉 Answer: What I like is that it’s easy to use.
- ❌ The problem is too expensive.
👉 Answer: The problem is that it’s too expensive.
- ❌ By the way did you call him?
👉 Answer: By the way, did you call him?
- ❌ Speaking of, I saw him yesterday.
👉 Answer: Speaking of him, I saw him yesterday.
- ❌ That reminds me I need call her.
👉 Answer: That reminds me, I need to call her.
- ❌ As far as I know he is here.
👉 Answer: As far as I know, he is here.
- ❌ I don’t know he is coming or not.
👉 Answer: I don’t know if he is coming.
🎯 Exercise 5: Choose the Best Sentence Starter
Choose the correct answer. (Only ONE is correct)
- “___, I didn’t enjoy the movie—it was too slow.”
A. In my opinion
B. To be honest
C. I think
👉 Answer: B. To be honest
(honest/possibly surprising opinion)
- “___, we don’t have enough time to finish this today.”
A. The problem is that
B. What I like is that
C. By the way
👉 Answer: A. The problem is that
- “___, he might be at home, but I’m not sure.”
A. As far as I know
B. I feel like
C. Anyway
👉 Answer: B. I feel like
(feeling + uncertainty)
- “___ your last email, I didn’t understand one part.”
A. By the way
B. Speaking of
C. That reminds me
👉 Answer: B. Speaking of
(connected topic)
- “___, I don’t know if this is the right answer.”
A. I’m not sure
B. In my opinion
C. The best thing is
👉 Answer: A. I’m not sure
- “___, it’s very easy to learn and use.”
A. The problem is that
B. The best thing is
C. I don’t know if
👉 Answer: B. The best thing is
- “___, it crashes every time I open it.”
A. What I like is that
B. The problem is that
C. Speaking of
👉 Answer: B. The problem is that
- “___, are you coming to the meeting tomorrow?”
A. Anyway
B. By the way
C. I feel like
👉 Answer: B. By the way
(new question/topic)
- “___, I think we should wait before making a decision.”
A. To be honest
B. Anyway
C. In my opinion
👉 Answer: C. In my opinion
(clear opinion—not emotion)
- “___, I need to call him after this.”
A. Speaking of
B. That reminds me
C. It depends on
👉 Answer: B. That reminds me
(memory trigger)
🔄 Exercise 6: Fix the Mistake (Trickier)
Find and correct the mistake
- ❌ I’m not sure if is he coming.
👉 Answer: I’m not sure if he is coming.
- ❌ It depends on how much does it cost.
👉 Answer: It depends on how much it costs.
- ❌ What I like is this app is easy.
👉 Answer: What I like is that this app is easy.
- ❌ The problem is that too expensive.
👉 Answer: The problem is that it’s too expensive.
- ❌ By the way, do you know where is he?
👉 Answer: By the way, do you know where he is?
- ❌ Speaking of travel, did you went to Japan?
👉 Answer: Speaking of travel, did you go to Japan?
- ❌ That reminds me, I must to call her.
👉 Answer: That reminds me, I must call her.
- ❌ As far as I know, he don’t work here anymore.
👉 Answer: As far as I know, he doesn’t work here anymore.
- ❌ I don’t know if he will comes.
👉 Answer: I don’t know if he will come.
- ❌ The best thing is it’s very cheap and easy use.
👉 Answer: The best thing is, it’s very cheap and easy to use.