Have you ever heard native speakers use Business English phrases with the words ‘as far as’? How comfortable are you with using that vocabulary?
Perhaps, you heard ‘as far as’ in a movie or read an interview online that used it, but you weren’t exactly sure what it meant or when to use it. Did those phrases have something to do with distance?
After reading this article, you will have a better understanding of how to use three phrases with the multi-word ‘as far as’ that are common in Business English communication.
As Far As I Know
First, let’s look at the vocabulary phrase ‘as far as I know’. When people use this phrase in a Business English sentence, it means they are not completely sure about the thing they are saying.
When you use ‘as far as I know’ you are telling someone a sentence using the information you know, but you are also telling them that the information may be wrong.
For example, a coworker might ask you what time the staff meeting starts. If you think your boss said the meeting starts at 10:30am, but you are not sure, you can say: “As far as I know, the meeting starts at 10:30am.” This tells your coworker that 10:30am is the time you seem to remember, but you don’t know 100%.
As Far As I’m Concerned
Next, ‘as far as I’m concerned’ is another phrase you might hear in many different Business English situations. People use it to express a personal opinion about someone or something, especially when they have a strong opinion and probably wouldn’t change that opinion (even if they learned additional information).
For example, an employee could say, “As far as I am concerned, the new manager is not friendly.” This employee is using this phrase to express their strong opinion about the new manager (that they don’t really like them) and they don’t want to hear anything to change their mind.
Another good example of how to use ‘as far as I’m concerned’ would be when comparing two things. You might have a strong opinion about food, football, or fashion, in which case you could say the following:
- “As far as I’m concerned, Mexican is so much more exciting than Italian.”
- “As far as I’m concerned, Man United’s stadium can’t compare with Arsenal’s stadium.”
- “As far as I’m concerned, Jaspal is so much classier than Pomelo, and it’s not even close!”
There are many different ways to compare things when you speak English.
As Far As {something} Is Concerned
The last example is ‘as far as {something} is concerned’. This phrase is used when talking about a thing or situation, and has a similar meaning to ‘regarding’ or ‘with regard to’.
For example, you might hear someone say in a meeting, “As far as marketing is concerned, the company needs to improve its campaign strategies.” Here, the speaker uses ‘as far as the thing is concerned’ instead of ‘regarding the thing‘ followed by their opinion.
“As far as the new office is concerned, I suggest we wait until next month to paint it.”
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“Regarding the new office, I suggest we wait until next month to paint it.”
In this blog post, we looked at three common English phrases using ‘as far as’ and situations in which you can use them. Understanding and using these common phrases will likely improve your Business English communication.
Hopefully, you will now feel more comfortable saying something you’re not sure about or expressing an opinion in your next meeting with English-speaking colleagues.
To learn more about multi-words vocabulary and how it can help you and your coworkers speak English more confidently, contact ECSC today.
