To make it easier to speak on the telephone in English, before you learn what you need to say (phrases which are used like, 'May I ask who is calling, please?'), it's very important to understand what the meaning is of some commonly used telephone vocabulary. Vocabulary that is used when both talking on the telephone and talking about telephone calls.
In this first of two online exercises on English telephone vocabulary, you'll first learn 11 important words and phrases which are connected to speaking on the telephone in English by reading a text. After this, you'll use these 11 words and phrases in a quiz/text, to both make sure you know what they mean and to remember them.
To learn some commonly used phrasal verbs and expressions used when making and receiving phone calls, do the 'second part of this exercise on essential telephone English vocabulary' after you have done this exercise.
In addition, to practise and learn what phrases you can both say and hear on different types of phone calls in English, look at our other exercises on telephone English vocabulary.
In the following conversation between two work colleagues (Peter and Juan), Peter explains to Juan the meaning of some commonly used English vocabulary for telephone calls.
From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.
Peter:'Did you call Mrs Smith this morning?'
Juan:'Yes, I did. But I didn't speak to her.'
Peter:'Why?'
Juan:'I think there was a problem.'
Peter:'Was there a problem with the phone or with the line?'
Juan:'The line?'
Peter:'The connection between your phone and hers?'
Juan:'I don't know how to explain what happened in English, but there was a problem.'
Peter:'Ok. Let's start from the beginning. On what type of phone did you ring her from?'
Juan:'Ring?'
Peter:'It means to call. I had a problem with my phone here in the office this morning. My line was dead, so I couldn't make or receive any phone calls. Did you call/ring from one of the landline phones here in the office?'
Juan:'No I didn't ring from my phone in the office. I was outside when I rang her. '
Peter:'So, it couldn't be a landline because it's impossible to make calls on it outside. So, you called her outside on your mobile?'
Juan:'Yes, I did. I was walking to buy some food. But I thought a phone you can carry with you was called a cell phone?'
Peter:'It's called a cell in North America, but a mobile phone in most other countries.'
Juan:'Ok.'
Peter:'If it was from a mobile, it could have been a problem with the reception. Did you have a good call signal on your mobile when you called her?'
Juan:'The reception on my mobile was good. My phone had a 100% signal and before the call I rang my wife and the quality of the call was perfect.'
Peter:'Did you dial the right number for her? Tell me what number you dialled?'
Juan:'I dialled 0871 7656 2390.'
Peter:'That's the right number. So what happened when you called her?'
Juan:'She didn't answer. I think the reason why is that she was speaking to somebody else on another phone call when I called her.'
Peter:'So, her line was engaged or busy. Did you leave a message in her voicemail asking her to call you back?'
Juan:'Yes, I did.'
Peter's landline phone starts ringing. He answers it.
Peter:'Hello Mrs Smith. Thank you for calling us back. Can you hold the line a minute, please. Thank you.
I have Mrs Smith on the phone calling for you. What extension are you on here in the office so I can transfer her call to your landline phone?'
Juan:'I'm on extension 1567.'
Peter:'Hello Mrs Smith, I'll transfer you through to his extension now.'
Match the words/phrases in bold from the above text to each of the definitions/descriptions below. Click on the "Check" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.
When the answer is correct, two icons will appear below the answer. The "" icon contains extra information on the word/phrase. In the "" icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.
Now that you have completed this exercise, do the second part of this exercise to learn more essential English telephone vocabulary.
Now that you understand the meaning of the words/phrases and when to use them, practise using them by creating your own sentences with them in English. Also click on the "" icon under each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.
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