Личная позиция и самоопределение

прошлое: Past Simple, used to (действия и состояния), would (только действия); результат: have come to realise, have learned; сейчас: no longer, these days; оценка: in retrospect + Past Simple; shape the way I …, instil X in sb, make me more self-aware

устойчивое — Simple (tend to, as a rule); меняющееся — Continuous (I'm finding it harder, I'm leaning towards, these days, increasingly); процесс — Perfect Continuous (I've been reconsidering); итог — Perfect (haven't settled yet); think / find / feel / consider меняют смысл в Continuous; like / want — только Simple

not so much X as Y (главная причина), partly … partly, for the sake of, at the expense of (в ущерб), driven by, torn between X and Y, conflicting priorities, ambivalent about, much as I'd like to … (уступка), X comes first

шкала: without a doubt → I'd go so far as to say / arguably → I tend to think / I'm inclined to → to some extent / by and large → somewhat / largely; arguably = можно утверждать (не «спорно»); один-два хеджа на мысль

тезис → основание (the reason being that, to a large degree) → пример (a case in point, let me illustrate) → оговорка (having said that, that's not to say, with one exception, one caveat, I should qualify that); substantiate a claim

иначе: to put it differently, what I'm getting at is, in other words; короче: in a nutshell, the gist; поправить: or rather, let me rephrase, I should have said; смягчить: that came out wrong, I didn't mean it that way, come across as; сложнее: more nuanced than that