# 1 Formal telephone conversations

Here are some useful phrases to conduct telephone conversations in formal contexts.

##

Vocabulario |
--- | ---
To answer the phone: |
¿Dígame? / ¿Diga? | Hello. (Literally: Tell me.)
Bueno. (México) Aló. (LAm) | Hello.
Museo Nacional, buenas tardes. | National Museum, good afternoon.
To ask to speak to somebody: |
¿Me puede poner con el señor Reina? | Can you put me through to Mr Reina?
¿Me pone con Luz Perales? | Can you put me through to Luz Perales?
¿Puedo hablar con la señora Valle? | Can I speak to Mrs Valle?
¿Con Ester García, por favor? | With Ester García, please?
To ask who is calling or say who is speaking: |
¿De parte de quién? | Who is calling?
¿Con quién hablo? | Who am I speaking to?
Soy Matilde Fernández. | It’s Matilde Fernández.
Habla Matilde Fernández (LAm). | Matilde Fernández speaking.
To put people through: |
Le pongo en seguida. | I’m putting you through right away.
Un momento, le paso. | One moment, I’m putting you through.

## Activity 1

Read the expressions below, and drag and drop them to match with the appropriate English descriptions.

Sí, un momento, le paso

putting someone through

¿Puedo hablar con el señor Gonzalo Reina?

asking to speak to a person

¿De parte de quién?

asking who is calling

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

1. Sí, un momento, le paso

2. ¿Puedo hablar con el señor Gonzalo Reina?

3. ¿De parte de quién?

1. 1

   putting someone through

2. 2

   asking to speak to a person

3. 3

   asking who is calling

The correct answers are:

- 1 =
- 2 =
- 3 =

OpenLearn - Getting started with Spanish 3
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