 Practical English speaking. How to disagree in English. In everyday spoken English, saying I disagree is often too direct. It may be considered rude. You can use the phrases in this lesson to disagree politely, without offending anyone. Phrase number one. I'm afraid I disagree. If your colleague says it's necessary to hire more employees to get the work done, you can reply, I'm afraid I disagree. The company doesn't have enough money to hire any new people. Phrase number two. I beg to differ. If your friend states in opinion, books are a thing of the past. The future is in online publications. If you disagree with his opinion, you can say, I beg to differ. A lot of people still prefer to read books. Phrase number three. I'm not so sure about that. If you're discussing politics and economics and someone says, China will definitely be the next dominant world power. You can express disagreement by saying, I'm not so sure about that. I just don't think their current level of growth is sustainable. Phrase number four. Not necessarily. This phrase is often used when the statement doesn't present the entire picture. For example, if someone says, if everyone took faster showers, the world's water shortage would be solved. You can disagree and say, not necessarily. Far more water is used in agriculture and manufacturing than for showers. Phrase number five. I don't see it that way. Globalization is just another way for rich countries to exploit poor countries. I don't see it that way. A lot of developing countries have benefited from globalization. Phrase number six. I'm sorry, but I don't agree. Imagine you're in a meeting at work trying to decide on your strategy for your company's product. Your co-worker says, we should change the packaging of our product to give it a more modern look. You can say, I'm sorry, but I don't agree. If we change the appearance, our customers won't recognize it. Number seven. Yes, but imagine you're going shopping with your friend and she says, this backpack is only $9. What a bargain. You can say, yes, but it doesn't look like it's very strong. So it's probably not the best value for your money. You can use yes, but to introduce a counter argument. Indirect disagreement. One way to disagree indirectly is to say your own opinion starting with the words well or actually. These words can signal a contrast. For example, if a student says, studying English grammar is the key to speaking fluently, you can disagree by saying, well, in my opinion, it's more important to practice listening and speaking. If you're in a conversation about sports and your friend says, Maradona was the best soccer player of the past century, you can disagree and present your own opinion. Actually, I think Pele was better. Informal expressions for disagreeing. These expressions are strong, so you should only use them among good friends and not in professional settings. Number one. No way. If you're talking about movies and someone says, Titanic was Leonardo DiCaprio's best film, you can express strong disagreement by saying, no way. Inception was so much better. Number two. You can't be serious. Imagine a husband and wife are talking about money and the husband says, we should buy a new car. The wife can disagree. You can't be serious. We can't afford that right now. Thanks for watching English Tips from Espresso English. If you liked this video, please share it.