Touchstone 2nd Edition Language summary Level 2

Unit 10 Lesson C: What were you saying?

Vocabulary
charger (n)

Conversation strategies
Dealing with interruptions
When you are talking to someone, you may need to interrupt the conversation (stop it for a
short time). You can use expressions like these:

Just a minute / second.

Excuse me just a second.
I'm sorry. Hold on (a second).
Could / Can you hold on a second?

A Juan and I went out to a fancy restaurant last night and . . .

B Oh, just a minute. I've got another call.

When you restart a conversation after an interruption, you can use expressions like these:

What were you saying?

You were saying?
Where were we?
What were we talking about?

A Juan and I went out to a fancy restaurant last night and . . .

B Oh, just a minute. I've got another call. . . . Sorry. So, what were you saying?

Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 10, Lesson C, Page 1

Touchstone 2nd Edition Language summary Level 2

just
You can use just to make the things you say softer.

This is useful when you tell someone to do something. Just is less direct and more polite:

Just (wait) a minute. I've a got another call.

You can also use just to make the things you say sound small or unimportant:

I was just calling to ask will you be my maid of honor?

Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 10, Lesson C, Page 2