Sometimes phone calls can cause misunderstandings
A famous French writer once said: "Language is the source of misunderstandings", and for many language learners misunderstandings can happen on a daily basis. But when you know the right language you can deal with misunderstandings quickly and easily - or even avoid them altogether.
Join Feifei and Neil and their studio guests as they explore and practise the language of misunderstandings.
Misunderstandings: Key phrases
Checking what someone means:
What do you mean by that?
Do you mean...?
So are you saying...?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you mean...?
Sorry, I'm not sure if I got that. Are you saying...?
Asking someone to explain what they mean:
Sorry, what exactly do you mean by that?
Sorry, could you go over that again?
Could you expand on that?
Checking that someone has understood you:
Is that clear?
Does that make everything clear?
Listen
Business English: Misunderstandings