Phrases for Making Phone Calls in English

Do you often need to make phone calls in English?

When you talk to English speakers by phone, your English needs to be easy to understand.

You also need to use the right phrases to be understood.

In this lesson, you’ll learn useful English phrases to:

Start and answer phone calls
Put people on hold or transfer calls
Ask someone to call back or stay on the line

Let’s listen to a natural phone call between a customer and a plumber. Then we’ll break down the key expressions and patterns.

Contents

Making phone calls: example dialogue

This short conversation shows how people use English to manage a phone call – from answering the call to ending the conversation.

Jim calls a plumber to ask for help with a broken shower. The plumber tries to check the schedule, then transfers Jim to admin. Admin can’t help straight away, but promises to call him back later.

Listen

Listen to the dialogue and answer the questions that follow. Then review the phrase breakdown.

Dialogue transcript

Read the full conversation below. These are real-life English phrases you can use to make or answer phone calls.

Plumber: Dripscon Plumbing, Jeff speaking, how can I help?
Jim: Oh, hi there. Erm, I’ve got a bit of an issue with my shower, and I need someone to come and have a look, preferably today, if possible.
Plumber: Can you hold on a minute? I’m just going to check my schedule.
Jim: Sure, no problem.
Plumber: If you could just bear with me a moment, please.
Jim: Of course.
Plumber: Right, I’m going to need to put you through to admin, ‘cos I can’t access my calendar right now for some reason.
Jim: OK.
Plumber: Right, I’m just going to put you on hold. Don’t hang up, I’m handing you over, OK?
Jim: OK, no problem. I’ll stay on the line.

Administrator: Hi, can I speak to Jim, please?
Jim: Speaking.
Administrator: Hello, there. So sorry for keeping you waiting.
Jim: That’s OK.
Administrator: I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid our system’s down at the moment, and I can’t see any appointments. Is it OK if we call you back a bit later?
Jim: Oh. OK. So, you’re going to get back to me later on, yeah?
Administrator: Yeah, don’t worry – once things are back to normal, we’ll give you a ring. Hopefully, that’ll be sooner rather than later.
Jim: OK, fingers crossed. Thanks, then. Bye.

Phrase guide: making and managing phone calls

Here’s a breakdown of the phrases from the dialogue.

Starting a call

Here are some natural ways to begin a polite phone call in English.

Hi there, I’m calling about …..
Hi, this is …………. I’m calling about ………..
Hello, my name’s ……………., and I’m calling to ……

These phrases help you introduce yourself clearly and explain your reason for calling in a polite and friendly way.

Asking to speak to someone

We use these phrases to ask to speak to someone:

Can I speak to …………., please?

You can also say:

Hi, is ………. there, please?
Hello, could you put …………. on, please?
Would it be possible to speak to ……….?
Hi there, I’d like to speak to ………

If the person who answers the phone is the person you’re asking for, they may say:

Speaking!= I am the person you want to speak to.
How can I help?

Asking someone to wait or hold on

These phrases help you manage the conversation while checking something.

Can you hold on a minute?
If you could just bear with me a moment, please.
Don’t hang up.
I’ll stay on the line.

You can also say:

Hang on a minute.
If you could just stay on the line for a moment, please.

Transferring or handing over a call

These expressions help you move the call to someone else.

I’m going to need to put you through to admin.
I’m just going to put you on hold.
I’ll pop you on hold, OK?
I’m handing you over.

You can also say:

I’ll just transfer you.
I’ll just hand you over.

Saying you will return the call

Use these phrases if you want to contact the caller later on:

Is it OK if I call you back later?
We’ll give you a ring. (a ring = a call)

You can also say:

I’ll get back to you later.
I’ll give you a call.
I’ll give you a buzz.
I’ll give you a callback.

Example questions

What’s a polite way to ask to speak to someone on the phone?
How do you ask someone to wait on the phone?
What can you say if you need to call someone back?

More useful phrases to talk on the phone

These are extra phrases not in the dialogue, but commonly used when making or answering phone calls in English.

Extra expressions

Phrase	Plain English
Is Jim there, please?	Can I speak to Jim?
Could you put me through to Jim, please?	Please transfer me to Jim.
She hung up on me.	She ended the call suddenly.
She cut me off.	The line dropped or ended by mistake.
If you could just stay on the line…	Please wait on the phone.

Pattern focus: questions with can, could, would

Phone call phrases often use questions with modal verbs, like can, could and would to sound polite.

Instead of saying “Give me Jim”, we say:

Can I speak to Jim, please?
Could you put me through to Jim, please?
Would it be possible to speak to Jim?

We also use phrases to check someone’s identity or to wait politely:

Speaking. (I’m Jim)
Can you hold on a minute? (Please wait)
Don’t hang up. (Please stay on the line)

Politeness tip!

Remember that questions starting with Could.. and Would.. are always more polite than questions with Can…

Exercises

Practise what you’ve learned with these simple activities.

1. Match the phrase to its meaning

Can I speak to Jim, please?
Speaking.
Don’t hang up.
We’ll give you a ring.
I’m just going to put you on hold.

a. I’m Jim.
b. Stay on the phone.
c. I want to speak to Jim.
d. I’ll call you later.
e. I’m transferring your call.

2. Match the phrases to a likely response

A: Could you put me through to Karen, please?
A: I’m afraid our system’s down.
A: Hang on a minute, I’ll check.

a. No problem, I’ll wait.
b. Sure – I’ll just transfer you.
c. OK – can you call me back later?

3. Finish the sentence (speaking practice)

Complete the sentence, then try saying it aloud.

Can I speak to..
I’ll just put you..
Don’t..

Answer key

1. Match the phrase to its meaning

Can I speak to Jim, please? → c. I want to speak to Jim.
Speaking. → a. I’m Jim.
Don’t hang up. → b. Stay on the phone.
We’ll give you a ring. → d. I’ll call you later.
I’m just going to put you on hold. → e. I’m transferring your call.

2. Match the phrases to a likely response

A: Could you put me through to Karen, please? → b. Sure – I’ll just transfer you.
A: I’m afraid our system’s down. → c. OK – can you call me back later?
A: Hang on a minute, I’ll check. → a. No problem, I’ll wait.