78 Agreement, disagreement and compromise

A

B

C Agreement: sharing views

verb + preposition Her complaints tally with the comments we have received from other people. His opinion concurs with the general opinion of the experts on this matter. meaning match or agree with

share/agree with an idea/opinion

The President found herself in full accord with the opposition. be in complete agreement with

Your views coincide with mine on the question of crime and punishment. be the same as

His behaviour doesn’t conform to the school’s expectations. fit in with

My parents approve of my choice of profession and support me fully. think something is right or good The noun from approve is approval; an action can meet with someone’s approval. [be liked by

that person] Note the expression to agree to differ, which is used when people continue to hold different opinions but see no point in continuing to argue about them: We couldn’t reach a consensus at the meeting, so we just agreed to differ.

Political and social disagreement

noun meaning There is dissent in the party on the issue. opposition to the accepted way of thinking The general discord between the committee members had a negative impact on the club. lack of agreement or harmony (suggests arguments and rows) The growing rift in the Democratic Party over defence policy is now public. disagreement (with different groups/factions forming) A major split in the Labour Party resulted in several ministers taking the decision to form a new party of their own. when a larger group breaks up into two or more smaller groups because they disagree about something There is (a) major division in the Socialist Party over economic policy. similar to split but more abstract and formal (can be countable or uncountable) Government plans to build a new airport in this area are bound to cause controversy. a lot of disagreement about a subject, usually because it affects a lot of people

Compromise

The two sides have reached a compromise over the plan to build the new road across a nature reserve. The Minister was not prepared to compromise on the issue of raising university fees. The government made several concessions to

the protesters. [accepted some of the demands of]

Language help

A good way to agree with what someone has said is to say either Absolutely! or Precisely! A: It would be risky to leave your job without getting another one first. B: Precisely!/Absolutely!

The management and the union reached a settlement and the strike ended. [reached a decision/agreement] In this particular case, we should exercise some discretion and not say anything that would cause

more conflict. [be sensitive, use our judgement]

78.1

78.2

Add the prepositions which normally accompany the verbs to the table. Then use these expressions to fill the gaps in the sentences below. Use each item once only.

verb preposition verb preposition approve concur conform compromise tally (be in) accord coincide

1 The list of principles to achieve. 2 My views to the normal idea of what a set of rules should be trying

completely with yours. We think on exactly the same lines. 3 This plan is in with the proposal made by the committee in 2011. 4 Her latest statement simply does not with her earlier ones. She is contradicting herself. 5 I of all the changes suggested, and hope they can be made to work. 6 For once all the committee members with one another. 7 Even though I disagree, I’m willing to on your proposal to increase our expenditure.

Match these newspaper headlines with the most suitable extract below.

1

RIFT OVER PENSIONS POLICY GROWS

2

3

4 DISSENT MUST BE KEPT WITHIN LIMITS, MINISTER SAYS

PARTY SPLIT OVER TAX CUTS NO LONGER A SECRET

DIVISION IN EUROPE OVER RESPONSE TO AFRICAN CRISIS

5 RELIGIOUS DISCORD THREATENS SOCIAL HARMONY

a b c d e

Approximately 50% of members now think it would have been better to leave things as they were. Intolerance towards others’ beliefs seems to be increasing and there have been isolated outbreaks of violence.

There is increasing pressure on the Minister to consider a change to her Party’s approach to social welfare. Several different national approaches have emerged which could weaken unity. He made the point that to disagree is everyone’s right, but a sense of responsibility is also important.

78.3

Rewrite the sentences using a noun from the same root as the underlined word. Make any other changes necessary.

1 The President conceded that the opposition party should be allowed a place on the committee. 2 I think you should always be as discreet as possible when it is a question of people’s private lives. 3 The landowners settled their dispute with the authorities over the proposed factory site. 4 The negotiating team were able to compromise and put an end to the labour dispute. 5 The decision to close the railway line has proved very controversial. 6 There are a number of dissenting views among the Board members. 7 The forthcoming leadership election has divided the Green Party. 8 Javier’s parents approved of his decision.