When you need this

Phone calls are harder than face-to-face talk because you lose the face. There's no lip-reading, no gestures, and a bad connection can swallow half a sentence. That's why phone English has so many fixed lines for starting, checking, pausing and ending a call. They give both people something reliable to hold on to.

Use them without embarrassment. Asking someone to repeat or slow down on the phone is normal, and people do it even in their first language. Say who you are at the start, and when you finish, give a short signal ("Okay, I'll let you go") before you hang up.

Phrases

how you say your name on the phone, not "I am"

checking if the other person can talk

asking someone to repeat

the connection is bad and words are missing

asking to end now and call later

wait a moment

let everyone in the room hear the call

you didn't answer when they called

record a message when nobody answers

the phone didn't ring, or was off

a polite way to start ending the call

end a call

Say it out loud

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

Practice · 3 min

Say the line that fits. Situation on the left, one natural line on the right.

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Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.