Common English Phrases for Phone Conversations

by | Jun 11, 2018 | English Vocabulary Lesson | 13 comments

In this English vocabulary lesson we will learn 70 Common English Phrases for Phone Conversations. Together we will go through these common phrases, use them in a few situations so that you can learn, remember and use these 70 common English phrases when having telephone conversations in English!

Watch the video lesson to learn common English phrases for Phone Conversations

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Generally speaking, when speaking on the phone in English you want to be as polite as possible.

1. One way of showing politeness is by using modal verbs.

Some modal verbs you could use are:
• could
• would
• can
• may
2. Another way of being polite on the phone, when making a request or asking for something is by using the words:
• please
• thank you
• thank you very much.

Let’s begin with the lesson. Below you will find the various situations which are discussed in detail in the video lesson, and the different common English phrases you could use when speaking on the phone in English

When someone calls you, you could begin by greeting the speaker using these common phrases….
Hi
Good Morning

 Good Afternoon
Good Evening

When answering the phone, you could also introduce yourself at first contact by saying:

Hi, this is…… speaking
you could even shorten it by saying
 Hi, ….. speaking

When you are calling somebody, and you don’t know who you are speaking to…
 Could I speak to …… please?
I would like to speak to…..
 I am trying to contact ……

Less formal ways of asking to who you are speaking to could be:
 I am trying to get in touch with ..Bob..
Is ..Bob.. there please?

If you would like to give that person you are speaking to more information about you, and who you are resenting while calling, you could use these phrases:
I’m calling on behalf off…..

If you are calling to represent a company, organization, institution etc, you could use the phrase….
I’m calling from the post office

When receiving a phone call, you could use these formal phrases..
This is …Adriana… speaking
…Adriana… speaking, how may I help you

When you don’t know who you are speaking to, you could use these formal ways to ask:
May I ask who’s calling please?
Can I ask whom I’m speaking to please?
Where are you calling from?

Informal ways to ask who is calling could be….
Who’s calling please?
Who’s speaking?
Who is it?
Whom am I speaking to?

When asking somebody to wait a bit on the phone, because you are busy, you could use the phrases…
Could you hold on a moment please
Just a moment please

Informal phrases you could use could be
 hold on a minute
 just a minute
just a sec (just a second)

If someone is calling you and asking to speak to someone, but they are busy, or not there at the moment, you could use these phrases…
I’m afraid ……….is busy at the moment’
I’m afraid ___’s busy at the moment, can I take a message?
 I’m afraid ___’s busy at the moment, can get him to call you back?

I’m sorry, he’s out at the moment

Informal ways of expressing this could be:
Sorry, ___’s not here
___ is out at the moment

When you answer the phone, but they have dialed the wrong number, you could use the phrase:
You may have dialed the wrong number….

When there is an issue with the network or signal you could use the phrase:
I’m afraid I can’t hear you very well

When you there is no issue with the connection, but you simply cannot hear the speaker, you could use this phrase
Would you mind speaking up a bit please?

When the issue is with your level of English, you could use the phrase…
I’m afraid my English isn’t very good, could you speak slowly please?

When you didn’t understand what the speaker is saying, you could use the phrase…
Could you repeat that, please?
Sorry, I didn’t catch that

If the person you’re calling is not available, then you could leave a message by saying…
 Could you please ask ___ to call me back?
Could you tell ___ that I called please?

If you would like to leave a message for who you are calling, you could ask by using this phrase
Can I leave a message, please?

If you would like to ask someone to call you back, you could use the phrase:
Could you please ask ___ to call me back?

If you would like to tell someone on the phone that that person will call them back
I’ll ask him to ring you when ___ gets back
I’ll let ___ know that you rang

When ending the telephone conversation in English and you would like to say bye in English, you could use these formal phrases:
Thank you for calling’
Have a good day’
Goodbye’

Informal ways of saying bye in English could be:
Bye!
Talk soon
Speak to you again soon

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