Phone conversation:

… (company). Good morning.

… (company). Good afternoon.

… (company). How can I help you?

I'm afraid you have dialled the wrong number.

Who would you like to speak to?

What does it concern, please?

Would you mind telling me what you're calling about?

Hold the line, I'll put you through.

I'll pass you over to … (department).

… is speaking on another line.

… isn't in (yet).

… is away on business.

… is on holiday (this week).

… is out for lunch.

I'm afraid, … is not available at the moment.

… will be back any minute.

I'm sorry, but the line is engaged.

There's no reply.

If you hold the line, I'll try again.

Would you like to hold?

Could you try again later / tomorrow?

Can I take a message?

Would you like to leave a message for …?

If you give me your phone number, … will call you back.

 Could I have your name, please?

Could I help you? / Maybe I can help you?

Anruf tätigen

… here. / … speaking. / This is …

This is … (company), … (name) speaking.

Sorry, I must have dialled the wrong number.

Could I speak to …, please?

Am I speaking to …?

Could you put me through to …, please?

It's about …

I'm calling about …

Could you please tell … I phoned?

Could you give … a message, please?

Could you ask … to call me back?

Do you know when … will be back?

Will … be in the office tomorrow?

I'll try again later / tomorrow.

Maybe you could help me?

Verständndigungsprobleme

My English isn't very good.

The line is bad.

I can hardly hear you.

I didn't get that.

Could you speak more slowly, please?

Could you speak louder, please?

Could you repeat that, please?

 Could you spell that, please?

Sorry? / Pardon?

Stating your Opinion

It seems to me that ...

In my opinion, ...

I am of the opinion that .../ I take the view that ..

My personal view is that ...

In my experience ...

As far as I understand / can see, ...

As I see it, ... / From my point of view ...

As far as I know ... / From what I know ...

I might be wrong but ...

If I am not mistaken ...

I believe one can (safely) say ...

It is claimed that ...

I must admit that ...

I cannot deny that ...

I can imagine that ...

I think/believe/suppose ...

Personally, I think ...

That is why I think ...

I am sure/certain/convinced that ...

I am not sure/certain, but ...

I am not sure, because I don't know the situation exactly.

I am not convinced that ...

 I have read that ...

I am of mixed opinions (about / on) ...

I am of mixed opinions about / on this.

I have no opinion in this matter.

Outlining Facts

The fact is that

The (main) point is that ...

This proves that ...

What it comes down to is that ...

It is obvious that ...

It is certain that ...

One can say that ...

It is clear that ...

There is no doubt that ...

Shopping:

Shop Assistant

Can I help you?

What can I do for you?

Are you being served [s@:vd]?

Sorry, we don't sell stamps.

Anything else? ['EnITIN Els]

It's on offer.

Buy two for the price [prVIs] of one.

How much / many would you like?

What size do you take?

Sorry, we are out of bread [brEd].

 Would another colour ['kVl@] do?

Would you like to try it on?

The fitting room is over there.

The dress suits [su:ts, sju:ts] you very well.

Pay at the cash desk / till, please.

I'll take this to the cash desk / till for you.

Here you are. / Here you go.

You're welcome.

That's 20 euros/euro altogether [ɔ:lt@'gED@].

You don't happen to have any change [tSeIn(d)Z], do you?

Here's your change.

Customer

I need ...

I'd like a bottle ['bQt(@)l] of milk, please.

Have you got souvenirs [su:v@'nI@]?

Do you sell stamps?

Where can I buy post cards?

Where can I get a film for my camera?

Where can I find newspapers?

Are these bottles returnable [rI't@:nIb(@)l]?

It doesn't fit me.

It doesn't suit [su:t, sju:t] me.

I don't like it.

It's too small / big / wide / tight [tVIt] / expensive [Ik'spEnsIv].

I'm size ...

Have you got this in another [@'nVD@] size / colour?

 May I try this on, please?

Where can I try this on, please?

How much is it?

That's all.

Where is the cash desk / till?

Could I get a receipt [rIsi:t], please?

Could I get a (plastic) bag, please?

(I'm afraid/ Sorry) I don't have any change [tSeIn(d)Z].

Do you accept [@k'sEpt] credit cards?

Weather

What's the weather like today?

What will the weather be like tomorrow?

Nice day today, isn't it?

What awful weather!

What a lovely day!

It's raining.

It's snowing.

It's …

Tomorrow it will be …

Yesterday it was …

sunny

cloudy

overcast

foggy

stormy

windy
 cold

warm

hot

Agreement

There are many reasons for ...

There is no doubt about it that ...

I simply must agree with that.

I am of the same opinion.

I am of the same opinion as the author.

I completely/absolutely agree with the author.

Qualified Disagreement

It is only partly true that...

I can agree with that only with reservations.

That seems obvious, but ...

That is not necessarily so.

It is not as simple as it seems.

Under certain circumstances ...

Disagreement

There is more to it than that.

The problem is that ...

I (very much) doubt whether ...

This is in complete contradiction to ...

What is even worse, ...

I am of a different opinion because ...

 I cannot share this / that / the view.

I cannot agree with this idea.

What I object to is ...

Unlike the author I think ...

Linking Arguments

First of all, I think ...

Not only that, but I also think that ...

Not only are they ..., they are also ...

They are not ..., nor are they ...

There are various/several/many reasons for this.

First, ... / Firstly, ...

Second, ... / Secondly, ...

Moreover, ... / Furthermore, ... / In addition, ...

Another significant point is that ...

Finally, ...

On the one hand, ... On the other hand, ...

In contrast to this is ...

Because of ...

That is why ...

After all, ...

The reason is that ...

In that respect ...

The result of this is that ...

Another aspect/point is that ...

 It is because ...

Although it is true that ... it would be wrong to claim that ...

That may sometimes be true, but ...

One could argue that ..., but ...

Providing Examples

Take for example (the case of) ...

Look at ...

For instance ... / For example ...

Let me give you an example.

Additions and Conclusion

Most probably ...

It appears to be ...

It is important to mention that...

As I already indicated ...

In other words, ...

I am most concerned about ...

I should like to repeat once again that ...

I should like to emphasise that ...

I would (just) like to add ...

So all in all I believe that...

(In) summing up it can be said that ...

Weighing the pros and cons, I come to the conclusion that ...

Conjunctions

but / still / however

 especially / mainly / particularly

before

as / because / since

so that

then / after that

that's why / so

either ... or

after all

after

of course

though / although / even though

or

as soon as

as long as

finally / eventually

in spite of / even so / all the same

perhaps ...

above all

neither ... nor

because

first of all

for example / for instance

Presentation

Structure and Content

* Introduction: General information on the topic

 Give your listeners an introduction to the topic (some general
information) and explain what exactly you are going to talk about in your
presentation.

* Actual Presentation

Subdivide your presentation into several sub-topics.

* Conclusion

Try to find a good conclusion, e.g.:

o an invitation to act

o an acknowledgement

o a motivation

Important Tenses

* Simple Present

* Simple Past

* Present Perfect

Tips on Giving a Presentation

As listeners cannot take up as many information as readers, keep the

following rules in mind when giving a presentation:

* Keep your sentences short and simple.

* Use standard English, avoid slang and techy language.

* Prefer verbs to nouns (not: The meaning of this is that …, but: This
means that …).

* Use participal constructions sparingly. (In written texts they are often
used to increase the density of information in a sentence. In spoken texts,
however, they make it more difficult for the listeners to follow.)
 * Speak clearly and slowly.

* Have little breaks in between the sentences to allow your audience to

reflect on what has been said.

* Communicate freely (don't read the whole text from a piece of paper).

* Illustrate certain aspects of your presentation with pictures and graphics.

The following tricks will also help you keep your audience's attention:

* Outline to the audience how your presentation is structured. (e.g. I will

first explain ... / Then I will … / After that … / Finally… ).

* Indicate when you come to another sub-topic (I will now talk about …).
This way your audience can follow your presentation more easily.

* Use a rhetorical question or hypophora from time to time. Your listeners

will think that you've asked them a question and thus listen more attentively.

* Use enumerations starting first / second / third. This also draws your
audience's attention.

* A joke or a quotation might also help keeping your audience listening.

Don't overdo it, however. Using too many jokes or quotations might not have
the effect you want.