Effex  +  365460 Tue, 15 May 07 08:53 PM Hi, I have a question about phone calls ... When somebody calls and asks to speak to me and I am the one who picked up the phone, what do I say? That's she? That's me? Talking? What is correct to say? Thank you Effex Joined on Tue, May 15 2007 New Member 02

	Clive  +  365526 Tue, 15 May 07 10:36 PM Hi, The commonest and simplest thing is just to say 'Speaking'. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,668 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Kooyeen  +  365556 Tue, 15 May 07 11:14 PM Hi Effex, good question, I'm curious... I know that "Speaking" is ok and common in the US, if I'm not mistaken, but what's common as well? That's me, That's him, This is him...? It would be interesting to hear from British people too, so to have a complete thread about "What on earth do I say on the phone?" Another thing I've always wondered about is what you say when you want to say who you are... "Hello, this is Kooyeen."? And if you want to know who is the other? "Who's this?" We could write some of the most common expressions to use on the phone, both in the US and in the UK... Kooyeen Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005 Italy Senior Member 4,981 Parental Advisory / Explicit Posts British People

	Effex  +  365624 Wed, 16 May 07 01:28 AM yeah, I would love to know that too ... BTW Koyeen, I see you are from Italy, I am from Italy too. Effex

	Pucca  +  365628 Wed, 16 May 07 01:33 AM  Kooyeen wrote: Another thing I've always wondered about is what you say when you want to say who you are... "Hello, this is Kooyeen."? And if you want to know who is the other? "Who's this?" I thought it was with "it" instead of "this". I mean, "It is Kooyeen" and "who is it?" instead of the examples Kooyeen wrote! Are they both used? Thanks in advance! Pucca Joined on Sun, Aug 27 2006 Spain Senior Member 2,972

	Grammar Geek  +  365703 Wed, 16 May 07 04:39 AM I guess I'm hopelessly stuffy. I say "This is she." Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	Kooyeen  +  365920 Wed, 16 May 07 02:28 PM  Grammar Geek wrote: I guess I'm hopelessly stuffy. I say "This is she." Hehehe, do you mean you think most people would say "This is her" nowadays? What about something else, apart form that and "speaking"? Is something like "That's me" or "I am <yourname>" common? And just to be sure, are "Hello, this is Barbara" and "Who's this?" the most common expressions on the phone? Are there any other similar expressions that are common? Thank you Kooyeen Grammar

	Grammar Geek  +  365939 Wed, 16 May 07 02:57 PM Well, see, this is another way I'm hopeless stuffy. If you are the caller (I'm talking personal calls, not business calls), it's your job to identify YOURSELF and to ask for the person you are calling for. I would find "Who's this?" to be really rude. (I've even said to people who do this "You called me. Why don't you tell me who you are first.") With a business call, I expct the business to answer with their name. When I get an internal call, I answer with a simple "Hi, this is Barb," and with an external call, it's "Good [morning/afternoon], company name, this is Barb." And perhaps I do speak to fast, because sometimes people will still ask for me, and then I would say "Yes, this is she." Grammar Geek

	Yankee  +  365955 Wed, 16 May 07 03:12 PM I don't know that it's hopelessly stuffy to say "This is she".   I think people learn this specifically for use on the telephone. But I do think that some people also would (informally) say "This is her." If the phone rings, at home I answer with "Hello".  If the caller asks to speak to Amy, I'll usually say one of the following two: - Speaking. - This is Amy. I've also heard people say "This is." People do not say "I am [name]". If I suspect it's a junk call (unsolicited phone sales, etc.),  then before I admit that Amy is already on the phone, I'll say: - May I ask who's calling? - Who's calling please? If this confirms that the caller is trying to sell something I don't want, then I simply tell them that Amy is away on an extended business trip or I start speaking German (which usually guarantees that the caller will give up and hang up). If the phone call is from a machine, I usually just hang up. Yankee Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006 Connecticut, USA Veteran Member 6,506 Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain