As we need to maintain a harmonious relationship within society, we, therefore, need to agree with other people that we interact with.
In business, for instance, contracts exist because there is a need to establish certain arrangements and agreements with stakeholders to make official transactions happen.
And, in our day-to-day activities as ordinary people, we meanwhile have to preserve peace in order to prevent conflicts that may destroy civilization.
Join us today as we discuss how to flexibly make use of the English language to maintain a socially peaceful environment.
Let’s start with some grammatical background on “I agree.”
A grammatical perspective on “I agree”
The rise and spread of English as a global language have been relentlessly promoting the standardization of its grammatical rules.
According to the grammatical conventions in English, “I agree” is considered a complete sentence despite being a surprisingly short one.
The singular personal pronoun “I” and the simple present verb “agree” follow a perfectly grammatical structure that can be interpreted in a single, unambiguous way.
The predicate “agree” agrees or concords with the singular subject “I,” thereby following the subject-verb agreement rules prescribed by the English language.
In English, subjects and verbs must always agree according to tense and number, as opposed to gender and case in other languages.
The rule of thumb, at least in creating simple present sentences, is to use the base form of the verb when we are dealing with a plural subject.
Example:
Plural subject: they
Base form of the verb: run
Sentence: They run.
If the situation is otherwise, then we need to reverse the process by adding the suffix -s or -es to the verb.
Example:
Singular subject: it
Suffixed verb: runs
Sentence: It runs.
However, the rule with the pronoun “I,” as well as “you,” is an exception. Weirdly enough, “I” has to be followed by the base form of the verb despite its singularity in number, just like with the pronoun “you.”
This is because, in standard English, subjects and verbs need to agree with the grammatical person instead of the notion or “meaning.”
Grammatical person, by the way, is a referential concept concerning the distinction of the speaker, the addressee, and the others that are neither the ones mentioned.
This irregularity or deviation makes English unique from other existing languages, and it demonstrates that other important factors affect how we use languages, such as culture and geography.
Although I’d love to share more about the technical side of language studies, I also don’t want to bore you off.
So, let’s now talk about how we could strategically use language to convey our agreement with other people and their ideas effectively.
10 Alternatives for “I agree”
Language is a special, whimsical little entity, and humans are creative enough to make communication extra interesting.
That said, endless ways to say “I agree” have already been developed through time, thereby elucidating how language is indeed a living organism that thrives with humans.
And, speaking of language and human creativity, there are also multiple ways to say “creative” in English.
Knowing lexical alternatives to mundane-sounding words will surely make you feel linguistically invincible and limitless.
To make your language skills even more indestructible, please patiently go over the list of alternative ways to ay “I agree” below and choose whichever suits your context best.
1. I feel the same way.
Everybody is entitled to their own beliefs, principles, and opinions. These things could either be subjective or objective and are neither wrong nor right.
When another person’s opinion is something we agree with, one good way to let the person know about our stand is by using the expression “I feel the same way.”
“Feeling the same way” as another person does indicates an affirmative emotional response to the delivered utterance or statement.
“Feelings” are generally more subjective than thoughts, and hence, you may use this exact expression to respond to something denoting subjectivity like the one below.
Example: A: Books make me cry more than movies.
You: I feel the same way.
2. I had the same idea.
Sometimes, we might be put in situations where we have to give suggestions and opinions on certain subject matters.
In group discussions, it is inevitable to come up with the same or relevant ideas as the others, thereby prompting conclusive decisions to occur.
When you are asked to speak your mind out, and what you want to say has already been mentioned by the person before you, you can simply say “I had the same idea.”
Example:
A: It has come to my attention that many employees have been defying the health and safety protocols. What do you suggest doing?
B: Since we cannot require everyone to get vaccinated, our option is to positively reinforce their behavior instead.
A: How about you? What do you think?
You: I had the same idea.
3. We are on the same page.
Another way to agree with someone is by using “We are on the same page,” which is idiomatic and, thus, not overly formal.
Nothing too casual to offend anyone, “to be on the same page” is used to agree with someone else or his idea, proposition, or suggestion.
The object of the preposition “the same page” may also be conveniently replaced with “boat,” thereby forming “We are on the same boat” to express the same idea.
Example:
A: I can’t really see any far-reaching, positive implications of these new dress codes.
B: We are on the same page.
4. You can say that again.
“You can say that again” is also another relatively casual and idiomatic way to agree with another person’s opinion.
The rather informal connotation of this expression is great for water cooler talks with colleagues, or during obligatory small talks before starting a meeting.
It is best to reserve this expression in conversations or correspondence with people we perceive as “equals” rather than superiors.
Example:
A: Hey, I think our new CEO looks handsome.
B: You can say that again.
5. There is no better way to say that.
In case you want to make your agreement with the other person more polite, you may increase the formality level of your expression by saying “There is no better way to say that.”
When there is “no better way to say something,” it means that the statement or argument delivered captures the best way to look at things.
Using this expression to agree with someone suggests full or strong agreement, which is great for persuading or convincing others to feel or think the same way as you.
Example:
A: Not all kinds of motivation and support are driven by money. Some can be done simply by listening and believing in the person.
B: There is no better way to say that.
6. That’s exactly how I feel.
We may also use “That’s exactly how I feel” to demonstrate that we share the same sentiment with another person.
“Feeling exactly how another person feels” is a neutrally formal statement that can be used to sympathize with an idea or feeling that someone else has already expressed.
Since you’re dealing with “feelings” here, it is best to use “That’s exactly how I feel” as an emotive response to a subjective comment or idea.
Example:
A: Writing cover letters can be tedious, and thus, every aspiring applicant should know some cover letter dos and don’ts before indiscriminately creating one.
B: That’s exactly how I feel.
7. My thoughts are aligned with yours.
Another less mundane way of saying “I agree” is “My thoughts are aligned with yours,” which can be used as a formal response to any suggestion that you concur with.
The formal connotation of this statement is great for polite discussions with people whom you consider as authority figures, or, to put it simply, people that you respect a lot.
That being said, using “My thoughts are aligned with yours” after your friend makes a positive comment about a baseball game you are both watching would come off as awkward and pretentious.
Example:
A: Without a shadow of a doubt, small to medium-size companies often suffer from cash management issues because of high tax compliance costs.
B: My thoughts are aligned with yours.
8. You speak my mind.
“You speak my mind” is an affirmative expression you could say after someone announces the same idea, belief, or reason as yours.
This expression, albeit idiomatic, is relatively more formal than “We are on the same page” and “You can say that again.”
Hence, you may use this affirmative statement in neutral to formal conversations with almost anyone you come across with.
Example:
A: Many kids nowadays are either too sensitive or too impatient.
B: You speak my mind. I sometimes don’t know how to deal with my daughter.
9. You are right.
One of the simplest and unambiguous ways to communicate agreement can be done through the expression “You are right.”
Because of its quintessential usage, no native nor non-native English speaker would misinterpret your language use if you choose this one.
“You are right” can be used in pretty much all kinds of correspondence and spoken discourse with any person, and hence, it is very much practical.
Example:
A: I think starting and ending emails professionally should still be the norm in business and academic correspondence.
B: You are right.
10. That’s true.
Just as importantly, “That’s true” is also something you could use instead of “I agree,” which is indubitably one of the shortest and, therefore, most concise ways of agreeing.
Saying “That’s true” means you think whatever statement has been stated is something factual, be it a general truth or simply something you believe in.
Like “You are right,” this one works splendidly in all kinds of correspondence and spoken discussions, as well as with any kind of people we communicate with.
For sure, you will never be misinterpreted by anyone you have to agree with if you use this as a quick affirmative response.
Example:
A: Nobody is invincible from work-related burnout.
B: That’s true.
10 Variations to “I agree”
Just some food for thought, you might be interested to know that “agreeance” in a nutshell is the obsolete form of “agreement” which strictly refers to the state rather than the act of agreeing to or with an idea or person.
I’m deliberately talking to you in a formalistic language because we are now going to get to know ten formal variations to “I agree.”
If you are always involved in formal correspondence, knowing formal alternatives to the email greeting “Hope all is well with you” should keep your email writing worries at bay.
The expressions below should help you get along well with others in situations requiring polite discussions, such as business or academic meetings, presentations, and proposals.
Yes, I agree.
The first unmistakable alternative I’d like to introduce is “Yes, I agree.” This one is a more complete version than “I agree,” and hence, more formal.
Adding a “yes” makes your act of agreement clearer and more precise. Expressing your thoughts accurately and completely removes any possible misinterpretations from your target audiences.
You may say “Yes, I agree,” for example, as a response to a closed-ended question. These types of questions entail a short, yes-or-no response, depending on your point of view.
Example:
Me: Do you agree with my opinion?
You: Yes, I agree.
I agree with that
The next possible way of expressing your agreement is through the statement “I agree with that,” in which the implied meaning of your “yes” is already substituted by the prepositional phrase “with that.”
When you intentionally add “with that” after “agree,” you are demonstrating the intransitive function of the verb “to agree.”
Even though this prepositional phrase may look like a direct object, it is only used to modify the verb instead of demonstrating its transitivity.
You may check our complete guides on transitive verbs and intransitive verbs to understand the concept of transitivity further.
In terms of usage, you can make use of “I agree with that that” to specifically refer to a previously uttered or written proposition or idea, such as in the following example:
Example:
Me: I think it’s time to call it a day.
You: I agree with that.
I agree with you
However, in case you want to emphasize that you agree with the person more than the proposed idea, feel free to say “I agree with you” instead.
Although the grammatical nuance between “I agree with you” and “I agree with that” is utterly negligible enough not to prompt miscommunication, a certain referential distinction still exists.
You would likely say “I agree with you” instead of “I agree with that” when you want to show some rapport toward your target addressee.
Doing so slightly decreases the objectivity of your response because you are adhering to and agreeing with the person instead of the given idea.
So, feel free to use “I agree with you” when you think your silent opinion just suddenly got mentioned by another person.
Example:
You: (silently thinking about changing the topic of a heated discussion)
Me: It seems like not everyone agrees with the proposed solution. For now, why don’t we move on to the next agenda instead and just go back to the issue later?
You: I agree with you. We could individually rethink ways to solve the matter first.
I would/could agree with that
When you are put in a situation where you would need to “offer to agree” with what someone says, yet you also have to consider the possible opinion of other people around, you can say “I would agree with that.”
This expression is great for representing a hypothetically polite agreement with the ideas or point of view of others, especially if you haven’t fully structured your position yet.
Comparatively speaking, your modal verbs such as “would,” “could,” and “should” vary in politeness levels when applied in various contexts.
Using “would” would be the most polite among the three, followed by “could,” and then lastly by “should.” “Should” is mostly used when giving strong, obligatory advice to another person, while “could” is the most neutral one.
Example:
Me: I suggest going to a secluded island for the retreat. What about you?
You: I haven’t really made up my mind yet, but I would/could agree with that.
I think we can all agree that…
To make your thoughts matter, being able to use alternative ways of expressing opinions should help you grab and hold your audience’s attention and entice them to take your viewpoint seriously.
Another indirect or polite way of expressing your opinion can be done by using “I think we can all agree that” followed by a reason or supporting idea.
After the conjunction “that,” an omissible sentence element, a dependent clause must be added to complete the thought of the message.
A logical response in reference to a previously presented idea, suggestion, objection, or proposition, is expected to appear in the succeeding clause.
More technically called “hedging” in linguistics, the use of the introductory subject “I” and verb “think” indicates the cautious way of presenting an opinion to avoid offending anyone around.
Hedging is a language strategy that we can commonly observe in highly formalistic discourses, such as in a business meeting, thesis oral defense, or class lectures.
Example:
Me: This month, our team’s overall lead generation result has plummeted by twelve percent. Can anybody tell me why this happened?
You: I think we can all agree that the industry we have been focusing on may not be that responsive enough. On top of that, our major competitor has also introduced another type of service to the market.
I do agree with you
“I do agree with you” is an affirmative statement making use of the “do-insertion” or “do-support” process to drive emphasis.
Also known as “the emphatic do,” this type of insertion is commonly used by native English language users in speaking to highlight the predicate of the sentence.
In a nutshell, “I do agree with you” is more superior to “I agree with you,” and thus, it is more emphatic and persuasive.
You may use it when you think the suggestion or opinion is something that convinced you to change your initial thoughts.
Example:
You: Why didn’t you defend yourself against the rumor?
Me: Well, that’s just because silence is way better than unnecessary drama.
You: Point taken. I do agree with you.
I totally agree with what you just said
Another way of increasing the weight of your affirmation or agreement is by inserting an adverbial intensifier instead of “do.”
You may squeeze in the adverb “totally” between the subject and the verb, followed by the prepositional phrase “with what you just said.”
Compared to using “with you,” using “with what you just said” demonstrates that the referential focus is on the idea mentioned rather than the person uttering it.
The semi-formal connotation of “I totally agree with what you just said” is great for agreeing with objective ideas and suggestions in neutrally formal conversations.
Example:
You: I think some of our marketing staff aren’t actively responding to the coaching sessions. They must be really stressed this month.
Me: Yeah, I noticed that too. I totally agree with what you just said.
[/su_note]I completely agree with your opinion
To increase the formality level of your intensifier “totally,” you may use “completely” and change “with what you just said” into “with your opinion.”
As you may figure, it would also be odd to apply this kind of language in small talks with your friends, family members, classmates, and colleagues.
You may use “I completely agree with your opinion” in more serious situations that also require critical solutions.
Example:
You: Our KPIs are down this quarter. We should assess the situation asap through training needs analysis.
Me: I totally agree with your opinion.
I couldn’t agree more
“I couldn’t agree more” is equivalent to saying “I strongly agree” which can be used as a response to something you desire to happen.
For instance, this expression would fit in situations where your silent wish suddenly becomes true because it has been voiced out by another person.
A less formal way of representing a similar idea is by using “You speak my mind.”
Example:
You: (silently thinking about ending the meeting and getting pizza for lunch)
Me: Let’s maybe call it a day for now and get some pizza for lunch.
You: I couldn’t agree more!
I couldn’t agree with you more.
Last but not least, you could increase the formality and completeness of “I couldn’t agree more” by inserting the prepositional phrase “with you” midway.
Doing so also increases the force of the affirmation, as well as the referential focus toward the person providing the proposition or suggestion.
Example:
You: It’s getting really late. What do you think about calling it a day?
Me: I’m glad you said that. I couldn’t agree with you more. Let’s go home.
[/su_note]Frequently Asked Questions on “Other Ways to Say ‘I Agree’”
How can we politely disagree with another person?
You may use some hedging strategies to politely disagree with a person. You can start with an empathetic introduction, followed by your disagreement markers, as well as an objective reason. For example, you may say something along the lines of “I see where you’re coming from, but I beg to differ with your opinion because…”
What is an informal or slang expression for agreeing with someone?
You could say “indubitably,” “no doubt,” “true that,” “yeah right,” or “for real” instead of “I agree” or “I agree with you.”
What is another way of saying “I agree with this statement”?
“I concur with this assertion/opinion/position” is another more formal way of saying “I agree with this statement.”
Conclusion
As tact and civility are two major building blocks of society, the implications of agreeing politely with other people and their opinions are far-reaching enough to prevent clashes of interest.
Therefore, knowing different expressions that would best match the context where we want the language to operate is inarguably indispensable.
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.