Tag: englishexpressions

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Conversation strategies: Asking for favors

WeSpeak Idiomas

Episode 10

Can you do me a favor? Yes, that’s the typical question we use for making requests, but there are some other expressions that help us sound more polite. Look at the four different ways used for asking for favors below.

Asking for a favor politely

You can use these expressions to ask for a favor politely. They are useful in formal situations or

if you are asking someone a big favor

I was wondering, . . .

  • I was wondering, could you help me write my resume?
  • I was wondering, could you write a reference for me?
  • I was wondering, could you take care of my dog while I’m away?
  • I was wondering, could you drive me to the hospital?
  • I was wondering, could you pick up my daughter from school?
  • I was wondering, could you swap with me?

 Swap [intransitive, transitive] to do the thing that someone else has been doing, and let them do the thing that you have been doing SYN change 

  • They decided to swap roles for the day.
  • She ended up swapping jobs with her secretary.

I was wondering if I / you could . . .

  • I was wondering if I could ask you something.
  • I was wondering if you could help me write my resume.
  • I was wondering if you could write a reference for me.
  • I was wondering if you could drive me to the hospital.
  • I was wondering if you could pick up my daughter from school.
  • I was wondering if you’d like to swap with me.

I wanted to . . .

  • Well, I wanted to ask a favor, actually.
  • I wanted to ask you something.

Would it be all right / OK with you if I . . . ? (+ past form of verb)

  • Would it be OK with you if I picked it up next Tuesday?
  • Would it be Ok if you did the dishes tonight?
  • Would it be all right if you took the dog for a walk?

Responses

All right, OK, So, Sure

You can use All right, OK, and Sure to agree to requests:

A: I was wondering if I could ask you something.

B: Sure.

A: I was wondering, could you write a reference for me?

B: OK

A: I was wondering if you could drive me to the hospital.

B: Sure

Let’s practice

  1. You are busy and you need your roommate to take your dog for a walk.
  2. You are going to run some errands and you need your friend pick up your daughter from school.
  3. You and your friend are leaving a party. Your friend drove, but you didn’t. now you’re really tired.
  4. Your roommate is going grocery shopping and you need some milk.
  5. You didn’t understand something your teacher said. You need her to repeat.
  6. Your car broke down this morning and I had to take a taxi. I don’t have a ride home.
  7. You need to get to the bank by 4 p.m. but you finish work at 5pm.

Answers:

  1. I was wondering, could you take the dog for a walk tonight?
  2. I wanted to ask a favor, could you pick up my daughter from school?
  3. Would it be Ok if you drove home tonight? I had too many drinks.
  4. I was wondering if you could pick up some milk for me.
  5. I wanted to ask a favor, I was wondering if you could repeat the grammar explanation.
  6. I was wondering if you could give me a ride home after work. I think my house is on your way.
  7. I need to get to the bank by 4 p.m. Would it be all right if I left work a few minutes early today? so I can be sure I get there in time…

You can use All right, OK, and So to move a conversation to a new phase or topic:

Situation 1: The nanny didn’t show up today and you have no one to take care of your child.

A: Well, I wanted to ask a favor, actually.

B: All right. So, what can I do for you?

A: Would it be all right if worked from home today?

B: Sure.

Situation 2: You have a job interview at the same time your daughter leaves school.

A: Well, I wanted to ask a favor, actually.

B: All right. So, what can I do for you?

A: I was wondering if you could pick up my daughter from school.

B: Sure. What time should I be there?

Situation 3: You and your friend are leaving a party. Your friend drove, but you didn’t. now you’re really tired.

A: Well, I wanted to ask a favor, actually.

B: All right. So, what can I do for you?

B: Would it be all right if I left work a few minutes early today? so I can be sure I get there in time…

B: Right, you can leave as soon as you’re done with the report.

To listen to this episode click on the button below.

Asking for favors
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Conversation strategies: Correcting information in a conversation

WeSpeak Idiomas

Episode 5

In written English, letters, emails, reports, etc we have the chance to correct our mistakes, we can even use tools that help us correct grammar and spelling. However, in spoken English, what is said, has already been said and we can’t change it. That is why it’s important to learn strategies to correct ourselves.

When you make a mistake in English, how do you correct yourself? Well, today we will learn a new strategy: how to correct information in a conversation.

Using “well”, “actually” and “no, wait”

You can correct the things you say with expressions like well, actually and no, wait

A:  Is this you in the photo? Look at how cute you were…

B : Thank you. Yes, that was me. I was 4 in that photo. No, wait, I was 3.

A: Do you remember much about kindergarten?

B:  Not really. Well, I remember my first day of class, my teacher gave me a lollipop because I wouldn’t stop crying, it worked!  Do you remember your first day of school?

A:  Yes, I think so. No, wait… I remember my first day at elementary school, not kindergarten. You have a good memory. To be honest, I don’t remember much from when I was little.

B: I do! I remember there was a tiny bed in my classroom. No kidding. Well, it wasn’t a bed, it was more a little crib.

A: You must be talking about day care, not kindergarten.

B: No, it was Kindergarten, I’m sure. I remember the classroom, my teacher, my classmates and everything…

A: That’s crazy, a bed in the classroom?

B: Yeah, I mean. I started when I was only 2 years old and I supposed it was for us when we were tired or sleepy, I remember sleeping in that crib.

A: So, did you used to take the school bus?

B: Yeah, Uh . . . actually First, my parents would take me to school and then, in high school, I started to commute to school on my own. I would take a bus.

A: The school bus.

B: Yeah, Well, in my country there wasn’t such a thing as a school bus, I just took a regular bus. 

As you can see, in this conversation we used the expressions well, actually and no, wait

At first I said “I was 4 years old in the photo”, but then I remembered I was actually 3 when that photo was taken so I said No, wait and then the corrected the information No, wait. I was 3.

When I was asked if I remembered much about kindergarten, I said Not really but then I said “Well, I remember my first day of class…” Well indicates there’s a correction.

Then I said there was a tiny bed in my classroom, but it wasn’t really a bed but a crib, so I corrected the information using Well. Well, it wasn’t a bed, it was more a little crib.

*A crib is a bed for a baby or young child, with bars on the side to stop the baby from falling out.

After that Chris asked me if I used to take the school bus, I said Yeah, Uh…  actuallyfirst, my parents would take me to school and then, in high school, I started to commute to school on my own.  In this case I’m using actually to correct information.

Chris wanted to confirm if I took the school bus and I first said Yeah but in reality in Perú, where I went to school, we don’t have the iconic the yellow school buses of the United States owned which are owned and operated by a school. What we have is school vans, it’s funny how kids in Lima don’t use buses but vans, and the system is different because these vans offer a private service, they aren’t owned or leased or operated by schools. This is actually an interesting question. Because Chris is from London, he could have assumed that there are school buses everywhere in the world but as far as I am aware, public schools in many developing countries can’t afford to offer that service so they don’t have school buses. That’s why I said, Well, in my country there wasn’t such a thing as a school bus, I just took a regular bus. 

Using “I mean”

You can use I mean to correct yourself when you say the wrong word or name.:

A: I got lost once at a supermarket once.

B: How did your parents find you?

A: Well, the manager, I mean, a cashier told the manager that there was a kid wandering around and he made an announcement through a loudspeaker  

Other examples

  • I love coffee. I mean, dark coffee, never with cream or milk.
  • My friend Ruby is a Spanish teacher, I mean, she teaches English as well.
  • My Jamaican, I mean, he’s half Jamaican, his dad is English and his mom from Jamaica.
  • Now you know 4 different ways to correct your sentences when you make a mistake in a conversation.
Episode 5: Correcting information in a conversation