To be fair

Summary

Life isn't always fair. But when having an interesting discussion with someone, it's often a good idea to explore both sides of the argument. Learn a phrase to help you do just that.

Transcript

Neil
Welcome to The English We Speak: I'm Neil.

Feifei
And I'm Feifei.

Neil
You know what, Feifei, I just love living here in London. I mean, the culture, the parks, the restaurants—it's got everything.

Feifei
Yeah, it's not bad, though to be fair it's not the cheapest place to live.

Neil
You're right. Though most world capital cities are quite pricey to live in, to be fair.

Feifei
Actually, to be fair, I think there are a lot of reasons to move out of the big city—you know, more space, better air, fewer people, and… nature!

Neil
Feifei, I think we've given good arguments on both sides, to be fair! And I hope we've demonstrated today's phrase—which is: to be fair.

Feifei
It's a phrase you'll hear a lot, especially in British English. It's used when you want to explain more than one side of an issue.

Neil
Let's listen to these examples:

Examples
We played well in the first half, but to be fair we were awful in the second half.

Now, Luke. We know that wasn't your best exam result, but to be fair, you had very little time to prepare.

Neil
So—it's a phrase that we use to give balance in a discussion. And it comes just before or after making a point, or giving an opinion.

Feifei
But these days, especially in spoken English, people sometimes just use it when giving an opinion—whether or not it's really about fairness.

Neil
Yes, for example: To be fair, The Beatles were the best band of all time.

Feifei
I think Italian food is the finest there is, to be fair.

Neil
So be careful when listening out for this phrase—sometimes it's just a 'filler' phrase, something people say a lot with no real meaning. It might not always mean what you expect it to!

Feifei
To be fair, that's why we make these programmes—to help people understand real English.

Neil
And they are some of the best English learning materials available, to be fair.

Feifei
Though, to be fair, other programmes are available!

Neil
Bye for now.

Feifei
Bye.