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."
63 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..
Can I say: Who would you like to speak? or Do you want to talk with whom? when I recive a call?
I daily visit to internet, but before seeing this website I kept on waisting my time but now I use my time very well and take help with this website and try to speak good english.
Milagros » You can say "Who would you like to speak to?"
thanks for your very helpful information. Would you lease let me know what should we say if someone is not in the office and will be back 2 hours later.
Shokoufeh » "I'm afraid he's not in at the moment. Can you call back in a couple of hours?"
I really want to thank you for all of this. Good job and very usefull.
what I have to say when I receive a call like this:
Can I speak to Mr.Khanna? In this case I pickup the phone and what exactly I have to say.. ?
Could I say… Yes, this is khanna. or you speaking to him…
khanna » Both are fine. Personally, I say "Speaking".
thank you very much for everything. it helps me a lot when i am working but i have a doubt…
what is the diference between "may i help you today?" and can i help you today?"
may be it is not in the examples but it is necesary when i have to work because my boss told me that the second one is wrong…
nahara » It's more polite to say "How may I help you today" as we use "may" to mean "in what way is it possible" (… for me to help you). But it is also correct to say "How can I help you today?"
When do we use "who is it". Please elaborate.
If I need to ask:"From what company are you?" or from what agency how should I ask correct?
Rena » What company are you (calling) from?
Abdul Rahman » If someone calls you when you are working, and a colleague answers the phone, they could say "Abdul it's for you" and then you could say "Who is it?" You wouldn't say it to the person on the phone, as that would seem very rude. If you want to know your caller's name, you can ask the caller "Who am I speaking to please?"
How can I ask about the subject of the telephone call? For example, if this is about marketing issues I would put the caller through to maketing department. How to find out? Can I ask "What is the matter of your call?" or "What is the subject of your call?"
KAGO » May I ask what you're calling about?
What is the nature of your call?
thank u guys
How can I thank people before our conversation more officially?
I mean to thank them for their time and etc.
Thank you. Does it mean that the following sentences are completely wrong?
"What is the matter of your call?" or "What is the subject of your call?"
Sesi » You normally thank people before a meeting – not before a phone conversation.
KAGO » "What is the subject of your call?" is OK. Otherwise, say "May I ask why you are calling?"
You could also say "What is this in reference to?" "What is the subject" or "What is the matter of your call?" are grammatically correct, but I have never heard anyone use those.
Sesi >> If you work for a company, you can say "Thank you for calling (your companys name here). How may I help you?" to start your conversation.
Is there a difference between British and American phone call?
Sometimes there are different expressions, but they're mostly the same.
Thank you, there are very important words for telephoning in English. The words are ver usefull and I have taken an advantage.
first,thank you for the nice notes but i want know alot about (if one make interview with me on phone how i answer with suffituantly)sorry for wrong spelling
The best advice is to think in advance about what the questions will be, then prepare the answers.
can i use this sentance "to whom do u want to talk"
"Who would you like to talk to?" is better, as it is less formal and more direct.
If some one asks "Is this Manjunath?"
I use to tell, "Yeah, Manjunath here……" like that. I want to know is this the right way to answer?
Yes, you could say that. Or you can say "Speaking".
is there a word 'telephoning' in English? usually people will say "I'm calling…" ty.
Yes, "telephoning" exists. Generally people say "I'm calling about…"
If I want to speak to any person ( i don't have his / her name) in Marketing Department for example, can i use " Could you pass my call to marketing department, please?
I prefer "Could you put me through to the marketing department, please?" but your sentence is fine.
thanks a lot for all these suggestions .
My question is while asking is it preferebale to use can or could?
Both are fine. Could is more polite than can, but they are both fine for telephoning in English.
hi,thanks alot 4u………………………..
pleas what ia the meaning of(lol and cool)???
lol = laugh out loud (to show someone you think something is funny)
cool = good
hi , i need to know the meaning of OMG ?
It stands for "oh my God", but you're more likely to read these initials than speak them.
Very useful info for interactions over telephone.
Can I say "What regarding?" when I want to find out what is the call about?
"What is it regarding?"
This is a good website to learn English. I love it so much.
This site is very useful. Thank you so much.
it s very good details to made call phone to stranger….