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Hello?
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Hello, can I speak to Kasia, please?
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Yes, speaking.
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Hi, Kasia, it's Oli here.
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Oh, hello!
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I wanted to ask: I need some English phrases for talking on the phone.
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Do you think you could help me with that?
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Of course!
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What do you need to learn?
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Well, everything, I suppose.
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No problem!
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Shall we start?
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Yeah, why not?
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Hi, I'm Oli.
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Welcome to Oxford Online English!
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Let's learn how to speak English on the phone.
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In this lesson, you can learn how to deal with common situations and problems when you're
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talking on the phone in English.
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You'll see four dialogues, and then we'll explain the vocabulary and phrases that we
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use.
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This way, you'll learn everything you need to make phone calls in English!
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Let's start by showing you how to make an informal phone call, for example to a friend
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or a colleague you know well.
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Hello? Oli, hi!
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Sorry, who's this?
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It's Kasia!
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Oh, hi!
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Sorry, didn't have your number saved.
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No worries.
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Listen: some of us are going rafting this weekend.
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Do you want to come?
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Wow, that sounds great!
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Yeah, sure.
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Brilliant!
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I'll text you the details.
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Okay, cheers for the invite, see you then I guess.
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Bye!
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Let's look at the whole dialogue.
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What do you notice?
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First, I answered with a simple hello.
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This is common if you're answering the phone informally and you don't know who's calling.
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I also used an informal way to ask who was calling.
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And I used an informal way to give my name.
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If you're calling your friend, don't say,
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I'm Kasia
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Instead, say,
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It's Kasia.
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Next, you can see that Kasia tells me why she's calling in a very simple way.
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Also, look at the whole dialogue.
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It's quite short, right?
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This is common in informal phone calls.
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We don't ask how are you or anything like that.
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It's not bad to ask how are you, of course!
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But, it's not necessary in an informal phone call if you know each other well.
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You can also see many examples of informal language that we both used, for example wow,
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yeah, cheers, I guess, or using invite as a noun instead of invitation.
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Finally, we ended the conversation quickly and simply.
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We used simple, informal goodbye words: see you and bye.
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Next, let's look at how can you make a formal phone call, so you can see the difference.
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Good afternoon, Oxford Online English, how can I help?
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Hello, could I speak to Michael Hart, please?
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Who's calling, please?
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My name is Oli Redman and
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I'm calling concerning a proposal which Mr Hart sent to me.
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One moment, please…
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I'm afraid he's not available right now.
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Would it be alright for him to call you back in about 30 minutes?
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Yes, that would be fine.
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And does he have your number?
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Yes, he called me last week, so he must have it.
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That's fine.
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He'll call you in half an hour or so.
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Is there anything else I can do for you?
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No, that's all.
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Thank you for your help.
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You're welcome.
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Thanks for calling, and have a nice day!
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And to you.
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Goodbye!
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Can you see the difference between this and the first dialogue you heard?
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First, I answered the phone with a longer greeting.
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Instead of just hello, I used a full phrase.
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I also said the name of the company—this is common when answering the phone at work.
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You could also say your full name, like this:
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Hello, Kasia Warszynska.
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Or, you could say the name of your manager, like this:
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Good morning, Anna Gilbert's office.
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You can also see that you use different phrases to ask who's calling, or to say who you
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are:
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Who's calling, please?
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Or: My name is…
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In this case, I used My name is... because I was introducing myself for the first time.
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If you're talking to someone who you've met before, you could use this is and give
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your name.
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For example, I could say:
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This is Oli.
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Oli also said why he was calling using a longer, more formal phrase:
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I'm calling concerning…
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You could also use something like:
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I would like to ask about…
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Or: I wanted to discuss … with you.
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In general, you can see that the dialogue is much longer.
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We spoke more, and also used longer sentences.
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You can see many examples of formal language that we both used, like I'm afraid he's
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not available, would it be alright to…, or that would be fine.
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Finally, the goodbye is also much longer.
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I started ending the call by asking:
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Is there anything else I can do for you?
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Compare this to the first dialogue, where we ended the call very quickly and simply.
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In this dialogue, ending the call took several sentences.
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We also used more formal goodbye phrases, like:
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Thanks for your help.
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Thanks for calling.
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Have a nice day!/And to you!
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Or: Goodbye
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So you can see two important differences here: the language is almost totally different,
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and also the style is different, because everything is longer.
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Next, let's look at another dialogue to see how to deal with a common problem when
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talking on the phone in English.
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Hello?
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Kasia, hi it's Oli.
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Hi Oli.
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Sorry, say that again.
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I said, we're thinking of going to the cinema.
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The sound's very quiet.
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Can you speak up a bit? Hello?
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Sorry, I really can't hear.
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How about now?
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Ah, yes, that's better!
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Sorry, I'm in the subway, and the signal's not so good.
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So, what were you saying?
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I wanted to say…
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Hold on, my battery's about to die.
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Can I call you back later?
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Sure, I'll be free till…
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First, a question for you: was this dialogue formal or informal?
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It was informal.
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Here, you can see some common problems you might have talking on the phone in English.
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At the beginning, I couldn't hear Oli's question.
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So, I said:
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Sorry, say that again.
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You could use many different phrases here, like:
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What was that?
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Or: What did you say?
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In a more formal conversation, you could say something like:
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I'm sorry, could you repeat that?
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Or: Could you say that again, please?
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Next, Kasia couldn't hear me because the sound was too low.
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She asked:
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Can you speak up a bit?
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Speak up means to speak more loudly.
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Mrore formally, you could say something like:
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The sound is low.
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Would you mind speaking a little more loudly?
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When speaking formally, you need to be more indirect, which means you need longer sentences.
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We were having problems because Oli was on the subway.
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Do you remember what he said?
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The signal's not so good.
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You could also say:
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I don't have much signal.
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Or: There's not much reception here.
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Finally, he ran out of battery.
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He really should have charged his phone before he went out!
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Hey, that's not my fault!
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And anyway, I said I'd call you back.
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And did you?
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Finally, what if you call someone, and they're not there?
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Hello, OOE productions, can I help?
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Hello, this is Kasia Warzsynska.
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I'm calling for Pieter Okker.
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Is he available?
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Unfortunately he's busy at the moment.
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Would you like to leave a message, or should I get him to call you back later?
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Um…
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Can I leave him a message?
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It's quite important.
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Of course.
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Could you ask him to double check the hotel reservations for the Italy conference?
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He'll know what I mean.
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Very well.
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Anything else?
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No, that's everything, but do please make sure he gets it as soon as possible.
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I'll pass your message on as soon as he's free.
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Thank you.
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Would you also like him to call you back?
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Yes, please.
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If you could get him to call me at my office, that would be wonderful.
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No problem at all.
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Thanks so much.
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You're welcome, bye-bye now!
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Bye!
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Let's start with the same question: was this dialogue more formal, or more informal?
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It was more formal this time.
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In this dialogue, I wanted to speak to someone, but he wasn't there.
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Oli took a message for me.
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Do you remember the question he asked?
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He said:
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Would you like to leave a message?
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You could also say:
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Can I take a message?
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Should I give him a message?
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What can you say to answer this question?
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You could say something like:
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Can I leave him a message?
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Or: Could you pass on a message for me?
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Then, give your message:
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Can you ask him to…?
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Could you tell her that…?
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Just let him know that…
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Here's a full example:
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Could you tell her that I'll be arriving at five o'clock, instead of half seven?
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You might also say how important your message is, particularly if it is very important!
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For example:
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Please make sure he gets it as soon as possible; it's really important.
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It's urgent, so please tell her as soon as you can.
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If it's not so important, you could say something like:
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It's not urgent, so just let him know when he's free.
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Hello?
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Hi, yeah, it's Oli again.
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Hi, Oli!
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Did you learn everything you needed about how to talk on the phone in English?
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Yeah, great lesson, thanks Kasia!
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You're welcome, glad you liked it!
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Where could I find more free English lessons like this?
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You should definitely go to Oxford Online English.com.
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There are lots of great free English lessons there.
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What did you say?
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I couldn't hear you.
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I said Oxford Online English.com.
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Ah, great, thanks!
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No problem, bye!
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See you!