Telephone English

BUSINESS  ENGLISH  VOCABULARY

Telephone

---

Useful telephone vocabulary and phrases in English.

---

Making contact :	Hello / Good morning / Good afternoon ... This is John Brown speaking Could I speak to ......... please? I'd like to speak to ..... ..... I'm trying to contact ..........
Giving more information:	I'm calling from Tokyo / Paris / New York / Sydney ... I'm calling on behalf of Mr. X ...
Taking a call :	X speaking. Can I help you?
Asking for a name / information :	Who's calling please? Who's speaking? Where are you calling from? Are you sure you have the right number / name?
Asking the caller to wait :	Hold the line please. Could you hold on please? Just a moment please.
Connecting :	Thank you for holding. The line's free now ... I'll put you through. I'll connect you now  / I'm connecting you now.
Giving negative information :	I'm afraid the line's engaged. Could you call back later? I'm afraid he's in a meeting at the moment. I'm sorry. He's out of the office today. / He isn't in at the moment. I'm afraid we don't have a Mr./Mrs./Ms/Miss. ... here I'm sorry.  There's nobody here by that name. Sorry.  I think you've dialled the wrong number./ I'm afraid you've got the wrong number.
Telephone problems :	The line is very bad ...  Could you speak up please? Could you repeat that please? I'm afraid I can't hear you. Sorry. I didn't catch that.  Could you say it again please?
Leaving /Taking a message :	Can I leave / take a message? Would you like to leave a message? Could you give him/her a message? Could you ask him/her to call me back? Could you tell him/her that I called? Could you give me your name please? Could you spell that please? What's your number please?

Silent Letters in English

In English some words have silent letters. This means that how a word is pronounced and how it is spelt is different. We write the silent letter when we spell the word, but it is not heard when we speak.

Here are some examples. The red letter in each word is silent.

Silent B

The lift is broken, we'll have to climb the stairs.

A baby sheep is called a lamb.

Silent C

There's a strong scent of flowers in the garden.

The final scene in the movie was exciting.

Silent D

My English lesson is on Wednesday.

I had a sandwich for lunch.

Silent G

I've never been to a foreign country.

The dog gnawed on a big bone.

Silent H

You can hear your echo when you shout in the cave.

I can only play a few chords on the guitar.

Silent K

I don't know what to do next.

I hurt my knee playing football.

Silent N

Autumn is my favourite season.

My brother is a journalist, he writes a weekly column in the local newspaper.

Silent P

She's studying psychology in university.

Make sure you get a receipt when you buy your new shoes.

Silent T

Please listen to what I tell you.

We applied for a mortgage so we can buy a new home.

Silent U

Would you like a biscuit with your coffee?

Guess who I saw yesterday?

Silent W

I'll wrap her birthday presents tonight.

We were looking for you in the wrong room.