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What does “by and large” mean?
Meaning, example sentence and a quick practice question.
C1
Generally speaking, with a few exceptions
“By and large, the reforms have worked well.”
From the C1 lesson In My Opinion (giving opinions).
Quick check
What does “by and large” mean?
Teaching this phrase?“by and large” is part of a ready-to-teach lesson, with a reading, three exercises, speaking tasks and an answer key, in Everyday English Chunks C1 Pack 1 (Life, People and Places).
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Related phrases
- for what it's worthused to introduce an opinion humbly, suggesting it may not matter much
- I'd venture to saya polite, slightly formal way to state an opinion you're fairly confident about
- on balanceconsidering everything, when you weigh the good and bad
- be that as it mayused to acknowledge a point before disagreeing or continuing
- there's something to be said for (something)used to admit that an option has a genuine advantage
- up to a pointtrue or acceptable, but with limits
- as far as I can tellbased on what I know, though I might be wrong
- if anythingused to suggest something is true, perhaps more than expected
- I'm inclined to thinka fairly formal way of saying you tend to believe something