phrase · informal

To be honest, + clause

Band 5-6speaking

Used to say you are telling the truth or giving a frank personal opinion; common in spoken answers.

Examples

“To be honest, I'm not a big fan of reality TV.”

“To be honest, I found the course harder than I expected.”

“To be honest, I wouldn't buy that brand again.”

Band 8 sentence

“To be honest, I find commuting tiring, and it's the main reason I prefer working from home when possible.”

Collocations

  • To be honest, I don't really like ...
  • To be honest, I'm not sure ...

Word family

Honestly, phraseFrankly speaking, phrase

Common mistakes

Honestly I don't like it.→To be honest, I don't like it.

To be honest I think that ... (used in Task 2 formal essay)→I believe that ... / In my view, ...

Be honest, I don't like it.→To be honest, I don't like it.

Say it for a higher band

5Honestly,→6Frankly speaking,→7+To be honest,

Synonyms

Honestly,

Frankly speaking,

Easily confused

Honestly,

“Honestly, I don't think that's a good idea.”

Related words

It is imperative that + clauseOn the other hand, + clauseIn my opinion, + clauseThere is a strong case to be made for + V-ingThese findings have important implications for + NPTo sum up, + clauseIt took + somebody + [time] + to + VOne advantage of + Noun/Gerund + is + ...

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In Opening & closing ideas

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