Report writing
The following phrases are useful when writing reports.
· Introduction
The aim/purpose of this report is to…
This report sets out to…
This report aim to…
· Conclusion
It was decided/agreed/felt that…
No conclusions were reached regarding…
It was concluded that…
· Recommendations
We would recommend that…
It is suggested that…
It is proposed that…
Getting information
· Asking for information
We can ask for information using a fixed phrase followed by a noun.
I’d like to know about availability.
What about…?
Can you tell me about…?
· Checking information
We can use the following phrases for checking information.
Sorry, I didn’t get that. Could you say that again?
Sorry, did you say…?
Suggesting
The following phrases are useful when we make suggestions.
Let’s…
Why don’t we…?
How/what about…?
I think we should…
Perhaps we could…
Couldn’t we…?
If we…we could/should…
The following phrases are used when making presentations.
· Introducing your talk
Today we’re going to look at…
I’d like to begin with…
Then we’ll go on to…
Finally, we’ll turn to
· Referring to visuals
If you’d like to look at the screen, you’ll see…
As you can see…
· Signaling
Moving on to…
So, now I’d like to turn to…
Expressing hindsight
We can talk about past mistakes in the following ways.
With hindsight, we should have/could have…
What we should have/could have done is…
If we’d…, we wouldn’t have…
Here are some questions that you could ask a new colleague or client if you want to be friendly and start a conversation:
Did you have a good journey?
Is that your first visit to…?
Do you need any help or information?
When did you actually arrive?
Where are you staying?
Whereabouts do you come from in…?
The following phrases are used when you’re on the phone.
Hello, I’d like to speak to Mr…
Hello, this is Miss…calling from…
Is Ms…available, please? My name’s…
Speaking.
I’m afraid he’s in a meeting/not in the office/still at lunch/not available just now. Is there anything I can do for you?
Hold on a moment, please.
I’ll just find out if she’s back yet/in the other office/available.
I’ll put you through to Miss…
I’ll ask her to call you back as soon as she’s free.
What’s your extension number/fax number?
Could you ask her to call me back, please? My number is…
Could you give him a message, please?
What time do you expect her back?
I’ll call again later today.
Thanks very much for your help.
Requesting
I’d like you to…, please.
Could you ask… to …for me?
Do you think you could…?
Would you mind…-ing…?
Sure.
Certainly.
I won’t be able to…, because…
I’m sorry but…
I’m afraid that’s not possible, because…
Offering to help
Can I give you a hand?
Would you like a hand with…?
Shall I…?
Would you like me to…?
If you need any help, just let me know.
Yes, please. Thanks a lot.
No, thanks, I think I can manage.
That’s very kind of you, but…
I think I’d prefer to do that myself because…
Asking permission
May I…?
Do you mind if I…?
Could I…?
Is it all right if I…?
Do you think I could…?
Sure, go ahead.
By all means.
No, I’m afraid you can’t, because…
I’m sorry but…
Agreeing and disagreeing
If you want to agree with someone you can say:
That’s exactly what I think.
That’s a good point.
Quite right, I couldn’t agree more.
That’s just what I was thinking.
I agree entirely.
Yes, I’m all in favour of that.
It’s often considered rude or aggressive to say “You’re wrong” or “I don’t agree with you”. It’s more polite to disagree with someone by saying.
I see what you mean, but…
I don’t think it’s such a good idea…
That’s true, but on the other hand…
I don’t quite agree because…
Maybe, but don’t you think…?
If you require some information you can say:
Could you tell me if/when/how much/why…?
I wonder if you could tell me…?
I’d like to know…
I’d like some information about…
Or you can write:
We require the following information…
Please let us know whether/when/how much…
