Do you say “Hello, I am XX.” when answering a phone call? In English, we do not say that during phone calls. Do you know what are the correct ways to introduce yourself when picking up a phone call? Today, Wall Street English will teach you 5 common mistakes that you might be making. Learn the right English and speak with confidence!
1.Wrong collocations
Due to the cultural difference, when directly converting Chinese into English, wrong collocations may occur, here are some examples:
Eat medicine → take medicine
Open the light → turn on the light
Close the light → turn off the light
Wash the laundry → do the laundry
The rain is big → the rain is heavy
2.Bored vs. Boring
Most people cannot distinguish the difference between “bored” and “boring” as they carry the same meanings, but there is a big difference when you put them in sentences. “Bored” can only be used to describe how a person feels, while “boring” is used to describe the object or person that makes us feel uninterested.
I’m bored.
The movie is boring.
3.“Hello, I’m Peter.”
It is normal to use it when you are introducing yourself to someone. But it is inappropriate to say it when you are picking up a phone call. To sound more native, you should say:
“Hello, I’m Peter.” → “Hello, this is Peter.”
If you would like to ask who the person on the other side is, do not say “who are you?”.
“Who are you？” → “who is this?”
4. Because…, so… / Although…, but…
In Chinese, “because…, so…” and “although…, but…” are typical sentence structure that we may use on a daily basis. However, in English “because” and “so”, “although” and “but” could never appear in the same sentence.
Because I love you, so I won’t hurt you.
→ Because I love you, I won’t hurt you. / I love you, so I wouldn’t hurt you.
Although she is smart, but she does not work hard.
→ Although she is smart, she does not work hard. / She is smart, but she does not work hard.
5. Crave vs. Crave for
“Crave” means you have a desire for something. A lot of people use “for” as the preposition after “crave” and it is wrong. When you use “crave” as a verb, it should be followed by a noun. But if you use “crave” as a noun, which would be “craving”, you can use “for” after it.
He is craving for chocolate.
→ He is craving chocolate. / He has a craving for chocolate.
She craves for attention.
→ she craves attention. / She has a craving for attention.
These above are the 5 common English mistakes that you should avoid. You may have made the above mistakes before, but it is not too late to correct them now. Learn to speak better English!
