Unit 12 On the Telephone

Unit 12 On the Telephone

Make a (phone) call to use the telephone

             USAGE NOTE: Adjectives such as important and quick are often added to this idiom.

             ▪ The manager went to ger office to make an important phone call.

             ▪ Jonah had to make a quick call before he left home.

Be on the phone to be using the telephone

             Opposite meaning: be off the phone

             ▪ Mr. Quintana is on the phone right now. She’ll be available in a moment.

             ▪ As soon as I’m off the phone, I’ll check the imformation for you.

Over the phone by using the telephone

             Also: on the phone

             USAGE NOTE: These expressions are used to show exactly how contact between two people is made. They are used with verbs such as give, talk, and speak, but not be.

             ▪ Instead of sending a fax, the assistant gave her boss the information over the phone.

             ▪ The doctor and his patient spoke on the phone about the medical problem.

Call up to telephone someone

             Also: give someone a call

             GRAMMAR NOTE: Call up is separable.

             ▪ You should call up Carmen before she calls Carlos up.

             ▪ Why haven’t you given her a call yet?

Hold on to wait for assistance on the telephone

             Related form: on hold

             ▪ The relephone operator asked the caller to hold on while she transferred the call

             ▪ I was on hold for several minutes because the clerks were busy with customers.

Off the hook not placed properly on the base unit of the telephone

             Opposite meaning: on the hook

             USAGE NOTE: This idiom means that the telephone handset is not properly placed on the base unit. The opposite form on the hook is less often used.

             ▪ Carl left the telephone off the hook so that he wouldn’t be bothered by any calls

             ▪ Please put the phone back on the hook so that we can be reached.

Call back to telephone someone who has just called and left a message, to call again

             Also: return someone’s call

             GRAMMAR NOTE: Call back is separable, so the object may follow the verb.

             ▪ Craig called back Alice as soon as he got her message.

             ▪ However, when he called her back, she wasn’t at home.

             ▪ He left a message for ger to return his call.

             ▪ I asked Frank to call me back because I was too busy to talk.

Hang up to put the telephone handset back on the base unit at the end of a call

             USAGE NOTE: This idiom may be used with or without an object. The idiom is separable if an object is used.

             ▪ The salesperson shouldn’t have hung the phone up before I could ask another question.

             ▪ Todd was enjoying his talk with an old friend so much that he didn’t want to hang up.

Crank call a telephone call intended only to annoy or bother someone

             ▪ Sometimes small children use the telephone to make crank calls.

             ▪ Kyle hung up the phone right away when she realized that it was a crank call.