A phrasal verb is a group
of words (consisting of a verb and a preposition, or a verb and an adverb) that
functions as a verb. A phrasal verb usually takes a different meaning to that
of the original verb in it. Let's exemplify the word, "break down".
"Break down" is a phrasal verb, and it is made up of a verb (break)
and a preposition (down). As a phrasal verb, "break down" carries a
different meaning to that of the original verb (break) in it. One of the different
meanings of "break" is "to separate into parts" whereas
"to break down" can mean "to fail, cease to function,
collapse, become weak, digest or divide into parts". That is why we say
"The car broke down", not "The car broke".
This article discusses
some phrasal verbs that are very important in "telephone"
conversation. A firm grasp of the meanings of these phrasal verbs will
absolutely make your speech posh while on the phone. It is also important to
state that these words have other meanings, but for the purpose of this
article, only the meanings associated with telephone are discussed.
1. Speak up
To speak up means to talk
more loudly. If you are in telephone conversation and you can't hear the other
person, you say "You are a bit faint. Can you please speak up?"
2. Call back
If you call someone back,
you return the person's call. For instance, while talking on phone, you realize
that you don't have much airtime, you can say to the person, "Could you
please call me back?"
It also means to
telephone someone again at a more convenient time. Maybe someone calls you and
you are very busy, you can say to the person, "I am kind of busy now. I
will call you back once I'm done with what I'm doing."
3. Pick up
This means to answer a
telephone. You can ask someone to pick up the phone if you are too busy to
answer it while it is ringing. For example, "Could you please pick up the
phone?"
4. Get through
In a telephone
conversation, to get through means to connect with someone. When you call
someone and the phone keeps ringing without the person picking up the phone,
you can say, "I just can't get through" or "The call wouldn't
get through no matter how many times I tried."
5. Turn off/Switch off
This is a very common one
because on several occasions we've been asked to turn or switch off our phones.
When you turn or switch off your phone, you stop it and can't make use of it. A
very common example is the warning notice in most filling stations, which
reads, "Please switch off your phone."
6. Hang on
Let's assume someone
telephones you and asks for vital information which you don't have offhand; you
can simply tell the person to "hang on" while you get the
information. To hang on means to wait. It's just like putting the call on hold.
7. Put down
To put down means to
terminate a call, usually in an unpleasant manner. Its synonym is "hang
up", e.g. "When her insults became so unbearable over the phone, I
threatened to hang up on her."
Perhaps you're having an
argument with someone on the phone, and then the phone suddenly goes dead, you
can say ''I don't believe it! He put the phone down on me."
8. Tie up
If someone is tied up, it
means that he/she is too busy to come to the phone. For example, if someone wants
to speak to your colleague who is in a crucial meeting with the boss, you can
tell the person "She's tied up in a meeting at the moment."
9. Put through
Like "get
through", it means to connect. If someone puts you through to a person, it
means that he/she connects you to that person. For example, you telephone a
company and you want to speak to the sales office, you can say, "Can you
please put me through to the sales office?"
Although "get
through" has similar meaning with "put through", it cannot be
used in this context.
10. Cut off
If you are cut off, it
means you are disconnected. This usually happens abruptly. For instance, you
are talking on phone, and it suddenly goes dead, you can call back the
other person and say, "I think the phone call was cut off" or
"We were cut off."
Tags:
Articles
