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This week’s question comes from Gao Yuanxue from China who wants to know more about using phrases with the word ‘agree’.

Firstly, I should note that agree with and agree to mean very different things.

1) Agree with 同意

To agree with someone means to agree with something the person has said. You can also agree with an idea.

When we use ‘agree with’ in a sentence it usually has the structure: subject + agree with + object.

For example: I completely agree with you.

	Why can't they agree with each other?

2) Agree to 答应

We use ‘agree to’ when we are talking about agreeing to do something.

When we use ‘agree to’ in a sentence it is usually followed by a verb in the infinitive. So the sentence structure is: subject + agree to + infinitive.

For example: I agreed to work late tonight.

3) Phrases with agree 和 agree 有关的短语

When people have agreed on something we might say they have reached an agreement. Here agreement is used as a noun.

If two people really can’t agree on something, they might have to agree to disagree. Sometimes they have to do this to move forward.

They have just reached an agreement.

If someone agrees 100% with something another person has said they might say, I couldn’t agree more.

For more examples, listen to the accompanying audio programme.

We hope this has answered your question Gao Yuanxue.

If you have a question about the English language, do send us an email: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and don’t forget to visit this page regularly to learn more about English.

subject 主语

object 宾语

infinitive 不定式

reached an agreement 达成共识

agree to disagree 同意各自保留不同意见

move forward 前进

couldn’t agree more 与某人意见完全一致