According to means as stated or reported by someone. You use it to name the person or source your information comes from: according to the report. Its second meaning is in line with or following: according to the rules.
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according to + person/source; according to + plan/rules
- According to the weather forecast, it will rain all weekend in Manchester.
- According to my manager, the new booking system will be ready by March.
- Everything went according to plan, and we reached the hotel before dark.
What changed
First versionAccording to my opinion, online courses are too expensive.
RevisionIn my opinion, online courses are too expensive.
In the sense of as stated by, according to refers to someone else: a colleague, an article, a study. It's tempting to use it for your own view as well, but people don't talk about their own opinion that way. Introduce your own view with in my opinion.
In its second meaning, according to is not about a source but about a principle: Students are placed in groups according to their level. Here it means based on their level. The fixed phrase go according to plan means to happen as planned.
Your turn
___ my colleague, the new manager is strict but fair.
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According to — To pass on what your colleague said, English uses according to my colleague. By the words of is not an English expression, and native speakers don't say it.
Pass on a tip or fact you recently learned from a colleague, a teacher or an article. Name the source with according to.
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