Useful vocabulary for making telephone calls in English.
Spelling
If you need to spell your name, or take the name of your caller, the biggest problem is often saying vowel sounds:
'a' is pronounced as in 'may'
'e' is pronounced as in 'email' or 'he'
'i' is pronounced as in 'I' or 'eye'
'o' is pronounced as in 'no'
'u' is pronounced as 'you'
Saying consonants
'g' is pronounced like the 'j' in 'jeans'
'j' is pronounced as in 'DJ' or 'Jane'
'w' is pronounced 'double you'
'x' is pronounced 'ex'
'y' is pronounced 'why'
'z' is pronounced 'zed' (rhymes with 'bed' in British English), or 'zee' (rhymes with 'sea' in American English).
Tip: Keep a note of how you say these letters by your telephone.
Giving numbers
Here's a phone number: 0171 222 3344
And here's how to say it:
"Oh-one-seven-one, triple two, double three, double four."
OR
"Zero-one-seven-one, triple two, double three, double four."
Pausing
When you say a seven digit number, separate the number into two blocks of three and four, pausing after each block.
Each digit is spoken separately, unless it's a double or triple. If the second part of the number was '5555', you'll probably find it easier to say 'double five - double five'.
Saying email addresses
@ is pronounced 'at'. For instance, caimin@clara.net is "caimin, at, clara, dot, net".
/ is "forward slash".
- is called a "hyphen" or a "dash".
_ is an "underscore".
Example telephone dialogues
Here are examples of typical telephoning language:
Getting through
You: "Can I speak to (Mr Smith), please?" or "Is (Mr Smith) there, please?"
Receptionist: "May I ask who's calling?" or "Could I have your name, please?"
You: "Yes, this is Tom McIvor speaking."
Many British people don't identify themselves when they make or receive a phone call. Even at home, they normally pick up the phone and say "Hello". But they won't be offended if you ask for their name.
Leaving or taking a message
Receptionist:
"I'm afraid Mr Smith is…
… out of the office today."
… off sick today."
… in a meeting."
… on holiday."
or "I'm afraid his line is engaged."
"…Would you like to leave a message?"
You: "Could you ask him to call me back?" or "Could you ask him to return my call?"
Receptionist: "Does he have your number?" or "What's your number, please?"
The receptionist uses "I'm afraid" or "I'm sorry" if he or she can't connect you.
If the receptionist doesn't offer to take a message, you can ask to leave one.
You: "Could I leave a message, please?"
Receptionist: "Yes, certainly." or "Yes, of course."
15 comments on “Telephoning in English”
I'm a Vietnamese. I'm studying English. So, these short dialoges are necessery to me.Thanks.
I'm afraid Mr.Smith is out of the office today.
Here is ,what is the meaning of "I'm afraid"?
It means "I'm sorry".
Great .. this is what im lookin for
If received the phone…
But the person not in here or in meeting..
Can we say to someone calling " Could you call back again/later.??
Yes. Or say when the caller can ring again: "Can you call back again in half an hour?"
If received the phone…
But the person is not there at his desk…
So what should i reply…
Right know Mr XXX is not at his desk.
Is the above sentence correct?
Yes, or you could say "I'm sorry but Mr ZZZ is not at his desk." / "I'm sorry, but Mr ZZZ is away from his desk."
I'm afraid!what mean in this sentence "I'm afraid Mr Smith?"
We use "I'm afraid" to give bad news:
"I'm afraid Mr Smith isn't in the office today."
It`s absolutely a good opportunity to learn expressions which can be easily used in real life situations in this case on the phone. I would like to thank you so much for the amount of information.
i understood in this topic of telephoning in English that many British people don't like to identify themselves when they receive a phone call so that what would i say when i receive a phone call from British native and need to identify the caller name?
You can say:
May I ask who's calling? Or
Who's calling please?
if i call a one person then, can i say " I am ramzeen here"
No. Say "This is Ramzeen speaking".
This is really a great opportunity to learn how to have conversation on phone. I found it so informative and useful. Many many thanks for all of this.
Really these dailouges helps me a lot especially when I am On telephone.
while speaking over a phone i should give a reciever to the person who sits next to me to talk
in that case what should i say
"I'll pass you over to …."
I found a small mistake in the above article that
Receptionist: "Does he have your number?" or "What's your number, please?"
Here I think it must be the sentence as
" Does he has your number?"
No, it should be "does he have…" Remember: in questions, you need the infinitive (without to) after the auxiliary does / do.
What is the difference between "Who is it ?" ,"Who is this ?" and "Who is that ?" on the phone ?
I'd say "Who is this?" and not the other questions when I want to know who the person calling me is.
this page really helpfull…thanks..
