Telephone English

BUSINESS  ENGLISH  VOCABULARY

Telephone

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Useful telephone vocabulary and phrases in English.

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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?

3 Beach Idioms

Summer is arriving! It's time to hit (=go to) the beach! Do you recognise these three beach idioms?

Beach bum/bunny

A young man who is always on the beach is a beach bum. A beach bunny is often used for females.

He's turned into a real beach bum since he moved to California.

Life's a beach

When you are very happy because your life is going well, life's a beach. It has the opposite meaning of the more well-known idiom, life's a bitch which expresses the idea that things are difficult or going badly.

He got engaged and got promoted - life's a beach for him at the moment.

To not be the only pebble on the beach

We use not the only pebble on the beach to state someone is not the most important person in the group. It's often used when someone is sad because a relationship has ended. Plenty of other fish in the sea is also used.

I know you are sad because you miss her, but remember, she's not the only pebble on the beach.

Laura always expects to get her own way. It's time she learned that she's not the only pebble on the beach.

Collocation in English

As you learn English, it's very important to develop an understanding of words that are regularly used together. Words that go together are called collocations. Knowing them will make your English sound more natural.

Here are some collocations with the verb take.

Choose the best collocation in these sentences. If you make a mistake, don't worry. Just remember it and don't repeat it.

1) Who was that ___ man you were talking to?
handsome
pretty

2) Drive carefully, the road gets ___ soon.
thin
narrow

3) There are some ___ mountains outside the town.
low
short

4) I work in a ___ building.
tall
long

5) The company is hoping to ___ a profit this year.
make
take

6) They've ___ their decision.
changed
moved

7) ___ a photo of him.
Make
Take

8) What does he ___ for a living?
make
have
do

9) She got a ___ education in London.
well
good

10) Do I have time to take a ___ shower?
quick
fast

The answers 

1 = handsome, 2 = narrow, 3 = low, 4 = tall, 5 = make

6 = changed, 7 = take, 8 = do, 9 = good, 10 = quick

5 Heat Idioms

It's heating up (the weather is getting warmer) here in Spain.

Did you know that to heat up is also used to describe a situation that is becoming intense, or angry:

"The conversation started to heat up so I decided to leave."

Here are five other heat related expressions.

Take the heat

If you can take the heat you can take criticism and handle stressful situations.

"Don't worry, if the project fails and the boss gets angry, I'll take the heat for us."

A dead heat

A dead heat is when there is no single winner - two or more participants tie for first place.

"The horse race finished in a dead heat."

In the heat of the moment

When you do or say something in the heat of the moment, it is because you are too angry or excited to think properly.

"She was so angry that in the heat of the moment she threw her pen at me! She apologised and we laughed about it later."

The heat is on

When the heat is on, a situation is becoming more difficult and busy.

"There are only 5 more days until the election, so the heat is on."

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

If the pressure is too much for you, stop. It is used when someone is not good at dealing with stressful situations.

"Being President is a hard job and if you can't stand the heat, you should get out of the kitchen."