67 Belief and opinion Zz Verbs connected with beliefs and opinions You probably already know think and believe; here are more. T’m convinced we've met before. [very strong feeling that you're right] ; Pve always held that compulsory education is a waste of time. [used for very firm beliefs; maintain could be used here] She maintains that we're related, but I’m not convinced. [insist on believing, often against the evidence; hold could not be used here] I feel she shouldn't be forced to do the job. [strong personal opinion] reckon they'll get married soon. [informal, usually an opinion about what is likely to happen / to be true] I doubt we'll ever sce total world peace. [don’t believe] I suspect a lot of people never even think about pollution when they're driving their own car. [have a strong feeling about something negative] YY Phrases for expressing opinion In my view / in my opinion, we haven’t made any progress. She’s made a big mistake, to my mind. [fairly informal] If you ask me, he ought to change his job. [informal] Note how point of view, is used in English: From a teacher’s point of view, the new examinations are a disaster. [how teachers see things, or are affected) Prepositions used with belief and opinion words Do you believe in God? What are your views on divorce? What do you think of the new boss? I'm in favour of long prison sentences. Are you for or against long prison sentences? I have my doubts about this plan. Beliefs, If you would rather organise this word tree differently or can add more examples, do 05 it will probably help you to remember the words better. beliefs ZS ideologies philosophies convictions ZL Lov NN left-/right-wing intellectual personal religious moral /\ \ \ ANA socialist conservative Darwinist vegetarian Muslim pacifist | Some adjectives for describing people’s beliefs and views, in pairs of similar, but not the same, meaning. fanaticallobsessive _eccentric/odd _conservative/traditional middle-of-the-road/moderate _dedicated/committed _firmn/strong jeologies, philosophies, convictions 134 English Vocabulary in Use67.1 67.2 67.3 67.4 Exercises Draw lines connecting the left and right, as in the example, adding the appropriate preposition. 1 Thave strong views my opinion. 2 Most people believe the proposed changes. 3 Iwas in favour marriage. 4 What does she think my mind. S This is absurd _ life after death. 6 He’s quite wrong — the new teacher? 7 Wall, that’s just silly our point of view, Use adjectives from E opposite which fit the phrases describing the beliefs and views of these people, as in the example. 1 A person who insists that the earth is flat. (An eccentric belief.) 2. A person who believes absolutely in the power of love to solve world problems. (A believer in the power of love.) 3. A socialist neither on the left or the right of the party. (A socialist.) 4 A vegetarian who refuses even to be in the same room as people who like meat. (A(n) vegetarian.) 5. Someone who is always suspicious of change. (A rather view of the world.) Rewrite these sentences using the verbs in brackets. I've always suspected that ghosts don’t really exist. (doubt) My view has always been that people should rely on themselves more. (hold) Claudia is convinced that the teacher has been unfair to her. (maintain) I felt a very strong feeling that I had been in that room before. (convince) In his view, we should have tried again. (feel) waene Are you...? Consider how many of these words apply to you, and in what situations. Some ideas for situations are given in the box, but you can add your own. Look up any words you don’t know in a dictionary. aperfectionist left-wing a moralist_ an intellectual traditionalist aphilosopher —middle-of-the-road a radical thinker narrow-minded ‘open-minded dedicated dogmatic food preferences politics learning English sport sexual relations life and existence religion _ work English Vocabulary in Use 135