Making and Receiving a Phone Call

A.

Learning how to communicate well on the telephone is one of the top priorities for many students who need to use English at work. Learning the common phrases that are used on the telephone helps students know what to expect. However, what students often need most is practice, practice, and more practice. Telephoning requires special skills as there are a number of difficulties that arise when telephoning that are specific to telephoning. The first and foremost difficulty is not being able to see the person you are communicating with. This lack of visual communication often makes students, who can communicate quite successfully in other situations, nervous and thereby hinders their communicative abilities. Add to this the typical hectic pace of business communication, and you have a particularly difficult situation.

B.

Most commonly used word-groups while making a phone call

• Hello? Is that (the HDFC bank)?
• Can I speak to (the manager), please?
• Can I have extension 801?
• Could I speak to…? (Can I – more informal / May I – more formal)
• Is George in? (Informal idiom meaning: Is George in the office?)
• I’d like to speak to (Miss Alice)
• I’m calling to ask about…
• I’d like to ask about / in inquire / know if…
• Can / Could you give any information about / on…?
• I’d appreciate it if you could give me some information on…
• I wonder if you could tell me about…
• I was wondering if you could help me…
• I’d like to know…
• I’d like to speak to…
• Could I speak to someone who…
• Could you put me through to Mr. Jones, please?
• Can / Could you tell me…?
• Sorry to trouble you, but is…
• Do you have any idea when / What / Where…
• Hello is this Dr John’s office?

C.

If you are answering the phone on behalf of the company, e.g. as a receptionist would, it is normal to say ‘Hello’ and give the name of the company. If your full name. For example ‘Hello, David Abraham’. If you don’t do that the caller can easily become confused.

It’s a good idea to write down someone’s name at the beginning of a call. If you miss their name, do ask again. Say ‘I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name’. If you want somebody to spell their name, do ask too – say ‘Would you mind spelling your name please?

D.

Answering the phone

• Good morning / afternoon / evening, Jackson Enterprises, Silvia Jones speaking.
• This is … speaking
• How can I help you?
• How may I help you?
• Could you speak up, please?
• Who’s speaking, please?
• Excuse me, who is this?
• Can I ask who is calling, please?
• Am I speaking to…?
• Could you spell that please?
• Am I speaking to..?
• Could you spell that please?
• Am I speaking to…?
• Could you spell that please?
• Who would you like to talk to sir / madam?
• One moment please, I’ll see if Mr. John is available
• Hello / This is (9849227667) / (Venkat)
• Who’s speaking, please?
• Who’s calling?
• Excuse me, who is this?
• Can I ask who is calling, please?
• Speaking.
• This is Swarna.
• Swarna speaking.
• This is (me) speaking
• Hold on / Hang on.
• I’ll call him / I’ll get him.
• I’ll put you through/I’ll connect you.
• Goodbye.

E.

• Putting someone on hold
• Just a moment, please.
• Hold on, please.
• Hold the line, please.

Know the telephone alphabet.
This is particularly important if you have to spell names and addresses.
The Telephone Alphabet
Letter	Pronunciation	Telephone alphabet
A	/ei/	Alfred
B	/bi:/	Benjamin
C	/si:/	Charles
D	/di:/	David
E	/i:/	Edward
F	/ef/	Frederick
G	/djie:/	George
H	/eitsj/	Harry
I	/ai/	Isaac
J	/djei/	Jack
K	/kei/	King
L	/el/	London
M	/em/	Mary
N	/en/	Nellie
O	/eu/	Oliver
P	/pi:/	Peter
Q	/kju:/	Queen
R	/ar/	Robert
S	/es/	Samuel
T	/ti:/	Tommy
U	/ju:/	Uncle
V	/vi:/	Victor
W	dubble /ju:/	William
X	/eks/	X-ray
Y	/wai/	Yellow
Z	/zed/	Zebra

F.

EXERCISE

You need to purchase six new computers for your office. Call Deepika’s Computer Shop and ask for the following information:

• Current special offers on computers.
• Computer configuration (RAM, Hard Drive, CPU).
• Warranty.
• Possibility of discount for an order of six computers.

Use of While, Used (to) Need, Dare

A.

While is used to mean –

1. During the time that, as long as;

            While he was sleeping, an enemy attached him.

            While there is life there is hope.

2. At the same time that;

            The girls sang while the boys played

            While he found fault, he also praised.

3. Whereas;

            While I have no money to spend, you have nothing to spend on.

            While this is true of some, it is not true of all.

B.

USED (TO) expresses a discontinued habit.

I used to live there when I was a boy.

C.

Nee, denoting necessity or obligation, can be conjugated with or without ‘do.’ When conjugated without ‘do’ it has no –s and –ed forms and is used with an infinitive  without to only in negative and interrogative sentences and in sentences that contain semi-negative words like ‘scarcely’ and ‘hardly’.

He need not go (=it is not necessary for him to go.)

Need I write to him?

I need hardly take his help.

When conjugated with ‘do’, need has the usual forms needs, needed and is used with a ‘to’ infinitive. It is commonly used in negatives and questions: it sometimes occurs in the affirmative also.

Do you need to go now?

I don’t need to meet him.

One needs to be careful.

Compare:

1. I didn’t need to buy it. (=It was not necessary for me to buy it and I didn’t buy it)

2. I needn’t have bought it. (=It was not necessary for me to buy it, but I bought it.)

D.

Dare (=be brave enough to), as distinct from the ordinary verb dare (=challenge), does not take –s in the third person singular present tense. It is generally used in negative and interrogative sentences. When conjugated without ‘do’, it is followed by an infinitive without ‘to’; when conjugated with ‘do’ it takes an infinitive with or without ‘to’ after it.

He dare not take such a step.

How dare you contradict me?

He dared not do it.

He doesn’t dare speak to me.

E.

Since, means –

1.         From and after the time when;

I have been in such a state since I saw you last.

Many things have happened since I left school.

I have never seen him since that unfortunate event occurred.

2.         Seeing that, in as much as.

Since you with it, it shall be done.

Since you will not work, you shall not eat.

Since that is the case, I shall excuse you.

F.

Either indicates a choice between two alternatives. Neither combines two negative ideas. Study the following examples:

• Which of these apples would you prefer? ~ I don’t want either, thanks.
• You can either have the $15 cotton top or the $17 cotton – and – polyester blouse. You can’t have both.
• Neither Richard nor Judy could come to the party.
• I want neither alcohol nor cigars for my birthday. Now that I’m fifty I must live a healthier life.
• I've known you for two years, but I haven’t met either of your two brothers yet. (OR: I’ve known you for two years, but I haven’t met either Francis or Damien yet.)
• Neither of my two brothers survived the war. Neither Francis, nor Damien.
• Which of these fur coats is your? ~ Neither (of the). That one’s mine.
• I can’t make it to the meeting on Tuesday ~ I can’t either.
• I don’t go mountain climbing and I don’t go mountain walking either. (Or: I don’t go mountain climbing and neither do I go mountain walking.
• Neither of them is coming. They both have to work next weekend.
• Neither of them is coming. They both have to work next weekend.
• Which of these umbrellas is yours? ~ Neither of them is. That one’s mine.

Use of do, Make, Must & Ought to

A.

‘Do’ and ‘Make’: The two verbs ‘do’ and ‘make’ are often confused. The meanings are similar, but there are differences.

‘Do’ for Activities

Use the verb ‘do’ to express daily activities or jobs. Notice that these are usually activates that produce no physical object.

Do homework

Do housework

Do the ironing

Do the dishes

Do a job

‘Do’ for General Ideas

Use ‘do’ when speaking about things in general. In other words, when we do not exactly name an activity. This form is often used with the words ‘something, nothing, anything, everything, etc.’

I’m not doing anything today.

He does everything for his mother.

She’s doing nothing at the moment.

Important Expressions with ‘Do’

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb ‘do’.

Do one’s best

Do good

Do harm

Do a favour

Do business

‘Make’ for Constructing, Building, Creating

Use ‘make’ to express an activity that creates something that you can touch.

Make food make a cup of tea / coffee

Make a mess

Important Expressions with ‘Make’

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb ‘make’. In a number of cases the verb ‘do’ seems more appropriate. These are standard collocations (verb + noun combinations) that are used in English.

Make plans

Make an exception

Make arrangements

Make a telephone call

Make a decision

Make a mistake

Make noise

Make money

Make an excuse

Make an effort

B.

Must, Ought To

‘Must’ is used to express necessity or obligation.

You must improve your spelling.

We must get up early.

‘Must’ refers to the present or the near future. To talk about the past we use had to (the past from of have to); must has no past from.

Yesterday we had to get up early.

‘Must’ is often used when the obligation comes from the speaker. When the obligation comes from somewhere else, have to is often used. Compare:

I must be on a diet. (It is my own idea.)

I have to be on a diet. (The doctor has told me to be on a diet.)

‘Must’ can also express logical certainty.

Living in such crowded conditions must be difficult. (=I am sure it is difficult.)

She must have left already. (I am sure she has left already)

‘Ought (to)’ expresses moral obligation or desirability;

We ought to love our neighbors.

We ought to help him.

You ought to know better.

‘Ought (to)’ can also be used to express probability;

Prices ought to come down soon.

This book ought to be very useful.

Use of Shall, Should, Will, Would

A.

There is no semantic differences when shall and will are used to refer to the simple future. Shall is used in the First Person and will in all persons to express pure future. Today I / we shall is less common than I / we will; as,

I will be twenty-seven next birthday.

We will need the money on Thursday.

When shall we see you again?

Tomorrow will be Monday.

You will see that I am right.

B.

Shall is often used in questions in the first person singular and plural when making suggestions, making suggestions, making an offer or asking for advice:

Shall we go out for dinner tonight?

Shall I get more tomato juice when I’m at the supermarket?

What shall we do now? We’re clearly not going to get there by nightfall.

However, when we want to express a strong intention to do something, we use will or’ll in the first person singular and plural:

‘Is that somebody at the door? I’ll just go and see who it is.’

‘We’ll get the cakes for breakfast, Jane.’

‘No, no. I will. I’m the hostess, after all.’

Questions with shall I/we are used to ask the will of the person addressed; as,

Shall I open the window? (i.e., Do you want me to open it?)

Which bag shall I buy? (i.e., What is your advice?)

Where shall we go? (i.e, What is your suggestion?)

C.

Will is used to express

1. Willingness, promise, determination, threat, and refusal;

         I will lend you the money.                           (=am willing to)

         I will carry your luggage.                             (=am willing to)

         I will try my best to help you                       (=promise to)

         I will try doing better next time.                  (=promise to)

         I will do better or die in the attempt.           (=am determined to)

         I will never agree to such an arrangement.  (=am determined to)

         I will never forgive him.                              (=threat)

         I will prevent you from moving forward.    (=threat)

         I will not come with you                              (=refusal)

         I will not give you any ore money               (=refusal)

2. Characteristic habit; as,      

He will talk about nothing but films.

She will sit for hours listening to the wireless.

3. Assumption or probability; as,

This will be the book you want, I suppose.

That will be the postman, I think.

4. Indicates an invitation or a request:

Will you have tea?

Will you lend me your scooter?

Will you dine with us tomorrow?

5. An order

Will you go away now?

You will listen to what I say.

D.

Should and would are used as the past equivalents of shall and will:

I expected that I would get a first class.

He said he would be twenty-five next birthday.

She said she would carry my books.

She would sit for hours listening to the wireless. (Past habit)

E.

Should is used in all persons to express duty or obligation:

We should obey the laws.

You should keep your promise.

Children should obey their parents.

F.

In clauses of condition, should is used to express a supposition that may not be true.

If it should rain, they will not come.

If he should see me here, he will be annoyed.

G.

Should is used to give advice and make recommendations and to talk about obligation, duty and what is expected to happen. Reference is to the present and the future. Should is similar to must but is not as strong as must:

You should always wear a helmet.

The cooked meat inside should be consumed within 3 days.

Should I tell her that her son is playing truant and skipping school?

~ I think you should. She should know about it.

H.

Would is also used to make polite requests:

• ‘Would you be prepared to do all this work by yourself without any assistance?’
• ‘Would you (be so kind as to) pick Jennifer up from school on Monday?’

I.

Would (or its contracted form ‘d in conversational English) is also associated with the conditional in its simple, progressive, perfect and passive aspects:

There’s no doubt about it. I would definitely (I’d definitely) travel to Mexico with you, if I could afford it.

You would still be (you’d still be) working for the World Bank, if you hadn’t kicked up such a fuss.

I would have told you (I’d have told you) all about it, if you had phoned me.

If you wore smarter clothes, you would be invited (you’d be invited) to all the press conferences.

J.

‘Would’ in offers

Would you like…? Is often used when making offers, as the more polite alternative to ‘Do you want…?

Would you like coffee, or would you prefer tea?

~ I’d love some tea.

Would you rather eat now or later after the film?

~I’d rather eat now. I’m starving!

I can see you’re struggling. Would you like me to help you with that?

Use of Can, could, May & Might

A.

Can usually express ability or capacity as in:

Can you read French?

Can I use your telephone?

Can you lift this table?

Can you help me in this matter?

I can study till late at night.

I can feel the heat of summer.

I can swim across the lake.

He can work on this problem.

B.

Can and May are used to ask for permission and give permission and give permission. May is usually considered more formal and polite than can; as

You can/may watch TV after dinner.

You can go now.

You may go now.

Can I borrow your work book?

May I borrow your umbrella?

C.

Can and May are also used to express the possibility of an action or event. May is usually used to refer to a less likely possibility than can as in:

We can have the meeting at 3 p.m. (definite possibility)

We may have meeting at 3 p.m. (slight possibility)

It may rain tomorrow.

He may be at home.

Can this be true?

It cannot be true.

Compare ‘It cannot be true’ with ‘It may not be true’. Cannot denotes impossibility, while may not denotes improbability.

D.

In very formal English, may is used to express a wish as in:

May God bless you!

May you succeed!

May you live happily and long!

May you have success in all your attempts!

E.

Could and might are used as the past equivalents of can and may:

I could swim across the lake when I was young. (Ability)

He said I might / could go. (Permission)

I thought he might be at home.

F.

In present – time contexts could and might are used as less positive versions of can and may;

I could attend the seminar.

(Less positive and more hesitant than ‘I can attend the seminar’.)

Might/ Could I borrow your umbrella?

(A diffident way of saying ‘May/ can I…..’)

It might rain tonight.

(Less positive than ‘It may rain…..’)

Could you pass me the water jug?

(Polite request)

G.

Do not confuse may be with maybe. May be is a verb Maybe is an adverb meaning ‘perhaps’. It can also be the answer we give when we don’t want to say either ‘yes’ or no’;

She may be late

She maybe late

Maybe she will be late.

H.

Could can be used in many different ways, to ask for permission, to make a request or to express ability when referring to the past. Was able to is sometimes used as an alternative to could when we are discussing ability or possibility. We tend to use could when we are talking about ability generally. Compare the following:

By the time she was seven, she could already speak three languages.

She started the viola at the age of eight and after only six months she could play it quite well.

Her brother Jack was an excellent swimmer. He could beat anybody in his class.

Isn’t, aren't

A.

When we want to ask for information we usually used the standard question form. However, sometimes we just want to keep a conversation going, or confirm information. In this case, we use, isn’t? Aren’t? etc. These small usages are called Question tags. A tag question is a question we can add to the end of a statement. Question tags are often used to solicit input or confirmation to what we are saying. Tag questions are used to verify or check information that we think is true or to check information that we aren’t sure is true or to check information that we aren’t sure is true.

B.

Question tag is used to:

(a)    Check whether something is true.

      Example: Your brother is a lawyer, isn’t he?

(b)   find out if someone agrees with us

      Example: This dress is beautiful, isn’t it?

     There is no short form for ‘am not’, so aren’t used to form question tags instead.

     Example: I am in the team, aren’t I?

C.

A statement can be turned into a question by adding a question tag at the end of it. The statement and the tag are always separated by a comma.

Example: this book is very interesting, isn’t it?

A tag question is a short question added to the end of a positive or negative statement.

For example:-

He is,	Isn’t he?
He does,	Doesn’t he?
He can,	Can’t he?

D.

Normally a positive statement is followed by a negative tag, and a negative statement is followed by a positive tag.

For example:-

You’re English	Aren’t you?
You’re not German	Are you?

E.

The verb in the statement should be the same tense as the verb in the tag.

For example:-

Present tense
You are a good signer,	Aren’t you?
Past tense
You didn’t go to work yesterday,	Did you?
Present perfect tense
You have been to London,	Haven’t you?

F.

If the verb used in the statement is an auxiliary verb, then the verb used in the tag must match it. If a modal (can, could, will, should, etc.) is used in the statement, then the same modal is used in the tag part. If the statement doesn’t use an auxiliary verb, then the auxiliary do is used in the tag part. For example:-

Auxiliary verb

                       She is from England,             isn’t she?

                       They aren’t very nice,           are they?

                       She doesn’t like it here.        Does she?

Modal verb

                      You can sing,                        can’t you?

                      They shouldn’t do that,          should they?

No auxiliary

                     He eats meat,                        doesn’t he?

G.

After imperatives, we sometimes add will you? Or won’t you? When we want people to follow our advice:

• Don’t stay there long, will you?
• And do take care, won’t you?

H.

After let’s we sometimes add shall we? When we are making a suggestion:

Let’s have buttered scones with strawberry jam for tea, shall we?

I.

Compare the following:

It is raining, isn’t it?

They are your classmates, aren’t they?

Those shoes are new, aren’t they?

Sheila is John’s sister, isn’t she?

You play tennis on Thursdays usually, don’t you?

And jack plays with you, doesn’t he?

You didn’t play last Thursday, didn’t it?

No one phoned, did any?

It’s been a lovely day today, hasn’t it?

It was a lovely wedding, wasn’t it?

Oh, you’ve stayed there before, haven’t you?

Oh, so you know Lleyton Hewitt, don’t you?

You’ve posted my letters, haven’t you?

You won’t forget to check my emails, will you?

You’re sad that I’m going, aren’t you?

You aren’t going to cry when I leave, are you?