Collocation
what I'm trying to say
The main point or clarification one is attempting to communicate, often after some difficulty or preamble.
Definition
'what I'm trying to say' is a common English collocation. The main point or clarification one is attempting to communicate, often after some difficulty or preamble.
what + [pronoun/one] + [be] + trying + to + say
“Look, what I'm trying to say is that we need to reconsider our approach.”
Examples
- I know it sounds confusing, but what I'm trying to say is actually quite simple.
- Could you clarify what you're trying to say, please?
- He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before stating what he was trying to say.
Show more examples
- What she was trying to say became clearer after she used an analogy.
- The speaker seemed to struggle with articulating exactly what he was trying to say.
- Despite his elaborate explanation, I still couldn't grasp what he was genuinely trying to say.
- If you would just let me finish, I can explain precisely what I'm trying to say.
- My apologies if it wasn't clear; what I'm trying to say is that we need more time.
- They finally understood what I had been trying to say for the past hour.
- It's often difficult to convey exactly what one is trying to say without feeling misunderstood.
Learn this in a path
More at B2 level
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