Improve your Speaking 9: Logical Argument

Questions or conclusions based on conditions with "if"

• If farmers really need to kill foxes, why don’t they just shoot them?

• What if there isn’t enough work to go round?

• What if the employers decide to introduce new working practices?

• And what happens if the two sides can’t agree?

• What would happen then if state benefits were cut completely?

• If this also makes Britain more attractive for overseas visitors, so well and good.

• You’d only use capital punishment if you were absolutely sure that you’d convicted the right person.

• It’d be O.K. if they recognised the quality of the songs their grandmother had taught them and went on to sing them to their own grandchildren.

Questions based on conditions with sentence adverbials " then" and "so"

• We punish murderers and rapists on Earth, so why shouldn’t the same people rot in hell?

• but if you want to go to a nicer locality, you can spend all day getting there. Then how do you go about making your own arrangements?

• A. Other people are part of the environment and they have a right to react to wrong-doing to protect society.
B. Then why shouldn’t God send evil people to hell?

• That’s why I’m advocating self-sufficiency as a goal. Then can you tell me what’s wrong with helping one another out?

Deduced questions and conclusions with sentence adverbials

"In that case" and "so"

A. Scientists... often observe links between certain phenomena.

B. In that case, would you describe astrology as a Science?

A. ... the whole point of marriage is to live together and possibly raise a family.

B. In that case, it’s obvious that children are a commitment for life.

A. Yes, but other things happen in the world which aren’t violent.

B. Well, maybe they don’t qualify as news.

A. In that case, you’re saying that news isn’t representative of what’s happening around us.

A. They’re probably warmer and more friendly, but they’re often very loud and extrovert to go with it.

B. So you prefer the British character?

A. Likewise, strikes among teachers can severely disrupt the education of our children.

B. So you don’t think everybody should have the right to strike?

Strongly argued questions with "Why"

• Why have we got to create large institutional families? If people decide to have children, then they should value family life.

• Why should other people pay for the exhibition of junk which nobody wants?

• But you’re already paying for the NHS through national insurance. Why should you have to insure yourself twice?

• Once the level of the benefit is higher than their take-home pay, why should they do a job?

• Why shouldn’t those who cause air and noise pollution do something to reduce it?

• ... if mountainous countries like Japan can export good cars, why shouldn’t they import their food?