Everybody has a different opinion of what America represents.
They held the same opinions on many issues.
Voters tend to have a low opinion of politicians. (=think they are not very good)
Teenage girls generally have a higher opinion of themselves as learners than boys, according to a recent study. (=they think that they are better)
for somebody preposition used when saying what someone's opinion is, especially when this is a general opinion which also affects their other ideas about a subject. For somebody is usually used at the beginning of a sentence:
For Chomsky, language is an abstract system of rules which is used by human minds for transmitting and receiving ideas.
For Vygotsky, social factors play a fundamental role in intellectual development.
as far as somebody is concerned used when you want to emphasize that you are talking about the opinion of a particular person or group:
As far as he was concerned, the failure showed the limits of military intervention.
The election was a formality as far as the ruling party was concerned.
from sb's point of view used when saying what someone's reaction to something is, based on how it affects them:
From their point of view, the system worked quite well.
It is important to consider the situation from the point of view of the ordinary man in the street.
3. To say what your opinion is about something
give / express / voice an opinion to say what you think about something:
Other writers have expressed similar opinions on the subject.
In his speech he was simply voicing an opinion that was held by many people at the time.
The commission has yet to give its opinion on the matter. STUDY NOTE: Grammar
Express and voice an opinion are more formal than give an opinion, but mean the same thing.
make your views known (about
opinions, especially so that they can be something that affects you:
• Old people seldom have the opportunity to something) to tell people about your considered when making decisions about
make their views known.
Giving Reasons
*see also Causes, Listing and Ordering
What you say when giving reasons for something
Words meaning reason
A reason that does not seem believable
1. What you say when giving reasons for something
because conjunction used when giving the reason for something:
The idea was rejected because it was too expensive.
They were discriminated against because of their colour.
Because many old people are on low incomes, they are often unable to afford adequate heating in the winter.
STUDY NOTE: Grammar
When writing essays, you don't usually use because at the beginning of a sentence when you are referring back to the previous sentence. For example, instead of writing "Many firms are building factories there. Because wages are much lower." it is much better to write: Many firms are building factories there because wages are much lower. But if the two sentences you want to connect are very long, you can write The reason is or The reason for this is at the start of a second sentence.
the reason (for this) is used when giving the reason for something, especially when the explanation is quite long:
These printers quickly achieved a market share of over 60%. The reason for this is that the technology they use is much simpler — and therefore cheaper — and running costs are lower.
why conjunction used when writing about the reason that causes something to happen:
No one knows why the dinosaurs died out so suddenly.
There are many reasons why people are having fewer children.
Girls mature earlier than boys. This may explain why they perform better at school.
in order to so that someone can do something, or so that something can happen:
Many criminals steal in order to get money to buy drugs. (=the reason they steal is so that they can buy drugs)
STUDY NOTE: Grammar
In order to is typically used in formal English. In less formal contexts, you often just use to, for example: I wanted to go to France to improve my knowledge of the language.
for preposition because of a particular reason:
Most people go there for sightseeing.
The names cannot be published for legal reasons.
The data will be used for research purposes.
through preposition used when explaining why someone succeeded or failed:
She got the job through hard work. (=because she worked very hard)
The records were lost, either through carelessness or incompetence.
as a result of used when explaining what made something happen:
Sea levels are rising as a result of global warming.
As a result of his work, illnesses such as tuberculosis can now be treated.
due to / owing to preposition used to give the reason why something has happened:
She resigned due to ill health.
The number of songbirds has declined. This is partly due to modern farming methods.
Owing to lack of public interest, the programme was abandoned.
2. Words meaning reason
reason noun [countable] why something happens or why someone does something:
There were two main reasons for his success.
39% of workers gave poor working conditions as a reason for leaving their previous job.
The reasons why this happens are as follows.
The reason that sales have not increased is that we had a very cold summer.
There are good reasons for believing that the Earth has not increased in size during the past 500,000 years.
explanation noun [countable] a set of reasons that is intended to help you understand why something happens:
Scientists have offered several possible explanations for these results.
No one has ever really provided a satisfactory explanation of how children learn language.
motive noun [countable] the reason that makes someone decide to do something, especially something dishonest:
There may have been a political motive for the killing.
Some people have questioned the motives behind the decision.
grounds noun [plural] a reason that makes it right or fair for someone to do something. You use grounds especially when saying that it seems justified to think that something is true, or when an action is justified according to official rules: