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Unit Telephoning
Lesson A

English IV
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Welcome!
These are the goals for this lesson:

• Use formal and informal language on the phone.

• Talk about phone etiquette.

This is the vocabulary for Lesson A.

Vocabulary of Word Bank

Phrases with phone

• Answer the phone – hang up the phone.
• Turn on your phone – turn off your phone.
• Mute / silence your phone.
• Be on the phone / talk on the phone.
• Borrow / use someone’s phone.

Phrases with call

• Call someone / make a call.
• Call someone back / return a call.
• Get a call from someone.
• Screen your calls.

Phrases with message

• Get a (text / phone) message – Leave a message / send a message.
• Check your (text / phone) messages.
• Take a message.
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Also, you will deal with expressions on the phone.

Useful Expressions

Using the telephone

Asking for someone and responding
Asking for identification of caller
Asking someone to wait
Taking a message
• Hi, Lisa? / Hi. Is Lisa there?
• Hello. May / Could / Can I speak to
Lisa, please? [formal].
• This is Lisa. / Speaking.
• Who’s calling?
• May I ask who’s calling? [formal].
• Hang on. / Can you hang on (for a
moment / second)?
• Would / Could you hold (for a
moment / second)? [formal].
• Can I take a message?
• May I take a message? [formal].
• Would you like you leave a
message? [formal].

We are also going to study the use of asking permissions with may, can, could, would/do
you mind if…?

We use may, could, or can to ask permission to do something.

For example:

Bob: Can I use your phone?

Marcus: Of course.

Bob: May I use your phone?

Marcus: Certainly.
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If we want to use a more formal way, we use do you mind if + a verb in Present tense.
Also, we can say would you mind if + the Past tense of a verb.

For example:

Bob: Do you mind if I use your phone?

Marcus: No, go ahead.

Bob: Would you mind if I used your phone?

Marcus No, not at all.

Now test yourself!

Use the correct expression for the following sentences:

Do you mind if I use / using your tablet for 5 minutes?

Would you mind if I borrow / borrowed your note of the class?

May I use /used your laptop to check my email?

Do / Can I use your book for a moment?

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Here are the answers for the previous exercise:

Do you mind if I use your tablet for 5 minutes? Use

Would you mind if I borrowed your note of the class? Borrowed

May I use your laptop to check my email? Use

Can I use your book for a moment? Can

End of the lesson.

If you think you need more practice, you can watch the video as many times as you need.

Also, focus on the example texts from the video to practice the pronunciation of words.

Don’t forget to keep practicing on MyELT and studying the contents of the lesson.
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Este material fue desarrollado por el Núcleo Transversal de Inglés para la

Universidad Mayor y ha sido diseñado para su lectura en formato digital.