Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we consider part of a message from Henry.
Here is one of Henry’s questions:
Greetings VOA Learning English team. I am a regular listener of your learning English program....
I would like to ask this question about the correct or proper way to summon someone (i.e., asking someone to come and see you .... at home, school or work) in English:
What expressions are used in summoning someone?
Thank you for your question, Henry. It is an important and useful one.
To summon means to call for a person or persons to be present, often for an important meeting.
Please note that there are many ways to summon others. In this lesson, we will present a few general ways.
Summoning others directly
When we speak to others directly, we can summon them with the following:
Could you come here, please?
We might also be more exact about the meeting place. For example, a supervisor or principal might say:
Could you come to my office, please?
You might also be more exact with what you would like to do. For example, you might ask:
Could I talk to you for a moment?
These questions are very general, polite, and useful in a lot of situations.
But the way in which we summon others can differ depending on the situation, how familiar people are with each other, and the rank or status the speakers have.
For example, consider a situation at home or school.
A parent or teacher might summon a child or student with language like this:
Come over here!
Generally, this kind of a summons is followed by scolding, or criticism.
Summoning others indirectly
So far, we have considered how English speakers might directly summon another person. But what do we say if we ask another person to communicate the information for us?
When an intermediary communicates the information, they might use the very general formula:
_____ would like to see you.
or
____ wants to see you.
We can use an example to clarify this point.
Boss: Tanya, could you ask Joe to come see me?
Tanya: Sure.
Tanya: Joe, the boss would like to see you.
Joe: Ok. I’ll be there right away.
Our examples can be used in a number of situations.
At school, a teacher might say, “The principal would like to see you” or “The principal wants to see you.”
At home, a brother or sister might say, “Mom would like to see you” or “Mom wants to see you.”
English speakers usually consider the structure “would like” to be a little more polite and formal.
For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? We want to hear from you! Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. Please let us know where you are from, too.
And that’s Ask a Teacher!
I’m John Russell.
John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
principal – n. the chief or leader of a school
polite –adj. showing good manners or behavior that shows respect and formality
intermediary –n. a person who aids the communications of two parties which are not communicating directly with each other
formal – adj. following established custom or rule
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