Telephone conversations E.S.L.

Telephone conversations will vary depending on who you are speaking to.  However, there are some basic telephone vocabulary and expressions that one should use when having a personal telephone conversation in English.

Phrases/Vocabulary:

Opening of a Phone Conversation/Call:

"Hello?"
"How are you?"
"My name is..."
"What's your name?"
"Who's calling/this?"
"May I ask who's calling/or whom I'm speaking with?"
"Is this (name)?"
"Yes. This is her/him."
"Yes. This is (name) speaking."

Body of a Phone Conversation:

"Who would you like to speak to?"
"Can I help you?"
"I didn't get your name."
"Can I take a message?"
"I'll give him/her to message."
"I can't hear you (clearly).  Could you please speak up?"
"Could you please speak slowly?"

Ending A phone Conversation:

"Thank you (for your  help)."
"Could you please call back (in 10/15/20... minutes)?"
"I will call back. Thank you."
"Please call back in (time)."
"It was/been nice speaking with you."
"Thank for calling."
"Talk to you later."
"Bye for now."
"Goodbye."

Dialog:

Mark is making a personal telephone call to Jon.  The phone rings and Jon's mom answers...

Jon's mom: Hello?

Mark: Hello?  May I speak to Jon please?

Jon's mom: Sure.  May I ask who's calling?

Mark: Yes, it's Mark.

Jon's mom: Okay Mark. Could you please hold for one moment please?

Mark: Sure.  No problem.

Jon's mom: Thank you.

(Jon's mom leaves to get Jon).

Jon: Hello?

Mark:  Hi Jon.  I wanted to know what time you wanted to meet tomorrow to complete the sociology report.

Jon:  Well, I am busy in the morning so the afternoon is a good time for me.

Mark:  I cleared my whole day for this, because I really want to get this done.  It is due in a few days and we still have a lot to do.

Jon: Okay, 1:00pm is as early as I can get there.

Mark:  Okay.  I will see you then. Please call me if there are any changes in your schedule.

Jon: Sure. No problem. I will see you then. Bye.

Mark: Goodbye.

Now Your Turn!

Practice with a partner using the phrases above to create your own dialog.
Phone rings...

You:  Hello? Is ________ (name) there?

Your friend: __________________ (use the expressions above).

You: ______________ (respond according).

Your friend: _____________ (continue the dialog using the expressions above).

Agreeing and Disagreeing

There are different degrees of agreeing and disagreeing in English; you can do this by showing complete agreement or disagreement, partial agreement or disagreement or strongly agreeing or disagreeing.  Below are some agreement and disagreement phrases that one can use to express one's opinion about something.

Strongly Agree:

"I strongly agree!"
"I totally agree!"
"I agree 110 percent!"
"I completely agree!"
"I couldn't agree more..."

Agreement:

"I agree..."
"You are right..."
 "I am of the same belief..."

Partial Agreement:

"I understand your point of view, but I also think that..."
"I don't completely agree...."
"I don't really agree..."
"I understand where you are coming from, but...."
"I see your point, but I don't completely agree..."
 "I see your point, but I disagree..."
"I kind of disagree with that...."

Disagreement:

"I don't agree..."
"I disagree..."
"I don't see your point..."
"I am of a different opinion..."
"I don't see/understand where you are coming from."
"I don't believe the same..."
"I don't share your opinion (on that matter)..."

Strongly Disagree:

"I strongly disagree..."
"I totally disagree..."
"I don't agree at all..."
"I'm afraid, but I don't agree at all..."

Please use the Dialog below to role play with a friend.

Jasmine and David are driving to a Rolling Stones concert.

Jasmine: I love the Rolling Stones!  I have been waiting for this moment for a long time!

David:  Really? But you have been to their concerts before...

Jasmine:  Yes, but they are the best band of all time.  I just love them! I love their music and everything about them as a group.

David:  You are a true fan; however, I will have to disagree with that statement. I think the Beetles are the best rock group of all time.

Jasmine:  I completely disagree with that!

David:  Okay... Why?

Jasmine:  Well, they were not around long enough and their success was based on a lot of hype.  It's not that their music is good, but because of the media attention they got, especially after the band broke up.

David:  I see your point, but it doesn't change the fact that as a group, they just weren't as good.

Jasmine:  I couldn't agree with you less.  How do you quantify that? I really don't understand where you are coming from.

David: I will explain. The fact that the band did not stay together does not take away from the quality of music made. They have had great songs that have stood the test of time, despite the fact that the group did not.  However, each member went on to have a successful solo careers and their songs are still relavant today. Take John Lennon and Paul Macarthy for example. More so, Paul  and Ringo still performs and releases albums to date!

Jasmine:  I understand your point of view, but I still think that the Rolling Stones are still the best rock group of all time.  I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree. Ha! Ha! Ha!

David:  I guess so... Ha! Ha! Ha!

Now your turn!

Role play with a friend!

You:  I think that _____________ (share an opinion about something).

Your friend:  (Use an agreement/disagreement phrase above).

You:  (Respond by using an agreement/disagreement phrase above and give a reason why).

Your friend: (Conclude by stating an opinion).

Great job today!