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CONVERSACIONES TELEFÓNICAS TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS |
The language of telephone conversation is quite formulaic, there are certain things one says when answering the phone. The most common expression in Spanish is:
| ¿Diga? | Hello? |
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¿Dígame? |
Then, the caller will ask for the person they want to speak to:
| ¿Está Juan / el Sr. Pérez? |
Is Juan/Mr. Perez in? |
There is a number of possible responses:
1.- The person is there and available:
| Sí, ahora se pone |
Yes, just a moment |
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Sí, un momento por favor |
2.- The person is there but unavailable:
| Ahora mismo no se puede poner | He can’t come to the phone right now |
They will ask you:
| ¿Quiere dejar un mensaje? |
Would you like to leave a message? |
3.- The person is not there:
| Lo siento, ahora no está | He is not in at the moment |
If you want to leave a message then you can say:
| ¿Puede llamarme cuando vuelva? | Can you ask him to phone back when he returns? |
| Llamaré más tarde |
Tell him I’ll call later |
4. It's a wrong number:
| Lo siento, se ha equivocado | I'm sorry you've got the wrong number |
| Lo siento, no es aquí | I'm sorry, this is not the right place |
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