Chapter 8 :

Let’s Get to Work !

Office Vocabulary :

Paper clips file folders pad of paper

pencils liquid paper receptionist
erasers desk
briefcase
pens
tacks ruler
message pads staple stapler
clip board three hole punch
index cards remover photocopier
labels filing cabinet
computer diskettes
swivel chair clip
pencil sharpener adding machine

director boardroom
manager business cards
payroll tape
personnel coffee cup
scissors boardroom overhead projector

Circle the words above that relate to the pictures.

Identify the office vocabulary in the pictures below

1. ___________________________

2.____________________________

3.____________________________

4. ___________________________

5. ____________________________

6. ____________________________

7. ____________________________
8. ____________________________
Conversation Practice : Telephone Messages

Secretary : Good morning, Lewis and Lopez

Language School for Business.
Mr. Rivera : Hello. May I speak with Silvia Lopez
please? Secretary : I´m sorry. She´s not in the office at
the moment. May I take a message ?
Mr. Rivera : Yes, please. This is Mr. Rivera.
Secretary : Could you spell that for me, please ?
Mr. Rivera : Sure, it´s R-I-V-E-R-A and my telephone
number is 345-6565.
Secretary : Thank you. I´ll make sure she gets the
message.
Mr. Rivera : When do you expect her back in the office ?
Secretary : I´m not sure. She said she had a meeting with some important clients
at 2 p.m. so she should be back between 3:30 and 4 p.m.
Mr. Rivera : Great ! I really need to talk to her today, if possible.
Secretary : Don´t worry sir, as soon as she comes in, I´ll give her the message.
Mr. Rivera : Thanks a lot. It´s concerning a possible new client.
Secretary : Oh, she´ll be happy to here that. Thank you for calling.

Practice the conversation above and then repeat it with some

personal changes.

Fill out the following message pad using the conversation above and
then fill out another using your own information.

Messages Messages
Date : Date :
Time Time :
From : From :
To : To :
Phone no.: Phone no. :
Concerning Concerning
 Role Play :
Act out the situation in front of the class. Write a script if
necessary.
Situation 1 :
A: You are calling Tickson Enterprises and you want to speak
with Mr. Ron Tickson. He is the president of the company . You
are his accountant, Ms. Hammond, and there is a serious
problem with his financial statements.
B : You are Mr. Tickson´s secretary. He is in an important
meeting at the moment and he can’t be disturbed, but you know
that this is a serious problem.

Situation 2 :
A : You are a customer calling the local telephone company to complain about
your bill. The charges are too high.
B : You are a customer service representative for the local telephone company. The
customer is question is always complaining about their bill, but it is always
correct.

Preposition about Dates and Times

In English, we use the prepositions on, in, and at when we talk about dates and
times. The chart below will explain when we use them

In On At
year only : I was born in day of the week : We have at a specific time :
1965. a meeting on Monday. We start work at 8:30 .
month only : She came to
Canada in September. date of the month : I will at night :
begin my new job on the I don’t like to work at
month and year : We 12th. night.
arrived in January, 1997.
at an unspecified time in day, month and year: John at a time of the day :
the future : My boss is started working for the We eat lunch at noon.
coming back from holidays company on July 3, 1975. lunch, dinner, supper
in a week/month / a few
days..
season : The flowers bloom day and month : My
in spring. birthday is on August 15th.
parts of the day :
in the morning, in the
afternoon, in the evening
 Grammar Tip:

In English, we capitalize the days of the week and the months

of the year but not the seasons.
Ex.
I went to the office early on Monday.
My father’s birthday is in May.
But
I love to go swimming in the summer.

Months of the Year: Days of the Week:

January Monday
February Tuesday
March Wednesday
April Thursday
May Friday
June Saturday
July Sunday
August
September
October
November
December

Exercises :
Determine whether to use on, in or at for the following sentences.

1. My sister was born _______ November 14th, 1967.

2. The party is _____ the 31st of May.
3. I love to take walks ______ the morning.
4. The meeting is ______ Wednesday _____ 9 a.m.
5. The Montreal Olympic Games were ______ 1976.
6. School usually starts ______ September.
7. I am always late. I can never get to work _____ time.
8. We will be having a meeting _____ a couple of days.
9. My brother’s wedding was ________ night
10. Don’t forget to finish your report. It is due ______ the 21st.
11. My family loves to go skating ______ the winter.

Tell and Ask

Messages with statements
The board meeting is on Tuesday.
The financial reports are due today.
The report is finished.
Requests
Please tell Martin the meeting is on Tuesday.
Would you please tell Martin the financial
report are due today..?
Could you tell him that the report is finished?

Messages with imperatives Requests

Call me later today about the project.
Bring the financial statement.
Pick up the report this afternoon.
Please ask Martin to call me about the project.
Would you ask him to bring the financial
statements.
Please ask him to pick up the report this
afternoon.

Tell and Say

If you say who you are talking to , use tell. Otherwise use say. Below are some
examples of both.

Robert told me that he was coming to Mexico for a visit.

Natalie said that she didn´t want to go to the office today because she was sick.
My husband told his sister about his new job.
My mother always tells us what she thinks is best for us.
The newspaper says that it is going to rain today.

Exercises:
Fill in the blanks using tell, ask or
say.
1. Betty______ me that she has a pile
of work*.
2. The secretary _______ that she had a
headache.
3. What did you _________ ?
4. Could you ______ him I called?
5. At the meeting the director
_________ about the problems in
the company.
6. Jill _______ her brother about her
promotion.
7. My friend _________ me about her new job.
Conversation Practice :
 Information, please ?
Customer : Hello, operator ?
Operator : Yes. Can I help you ?
Customer : Yes, I am trying to make a direct call
to Japan, but I think I have the wrong
country code.
Operator : The country code for Japan is 81, but
you must dial 011 first, then 81 and then
the code for the city you want.
What city do you want?
Customer : I want to speak to my sister in Kyoto.
Operator : Okay. You have to dial 011-81-752 and
then the local number.
Customer : Could you connect me directly?
Operator : I could, but it would be more expensive. You’re better off* dialing
directly.
Customer : Okay. Thanks operator. Oh, by the way* do you know what the time
difference is from here to Kyoto ?
Operator : Yes. It’s thirteen hours ahead. In other words, it’s 8 p.m. here, which
would make it 9 a.m. in Kyoto right now.
Customer : Oh, that’s perfect. She’s just getting ready to go to work. Thanks
again.

Discuss the vocabulary from the conversation and answer these questions
1. Who did the customer want to call?
2. Where did she want to call?
3. What was the country code and city code of the place they wanted to call?
4. Was it cheaper to use the operator to call or to dial directly?

*Culture Note: The expression to be better off means he or she is/was/ will be
in a better position or situation. In other words, this action would be advantageous.
The expression by the way, is usually used in a stream of thought when the person
wants to mention an additional point, make another inquiry, or ask another
question. It is quite a casual expression, but it can be used in business scenarios,
too.

In partners, practice the following conversation and then choose a

place and a person you would like to make a long distance call to and
repeat the conversation with the changes.
 Calling for Information

INTERNET COURSE: ENGLISH

CONVERSATION
For beginners to the net.
The courses will help you surf the
net without problems. Courses begin
Sept. 12th. Schedule is Mon. and Wed.
7:30-9:30 p.m. (4 weeks) $100
For all levels; beginner, intermediate,
and advanced students. Fully-qualified
and dynamic teachers. Courses begin
Oct. 9th. Tues. and Thurs. 6-9 p.m.
(12 weeks) $500

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE: LATIN AND

If you love international food and
you love to cook, you would love this
course. Courses begin July 1st Saturdays
1 - 4 p.m. (8 weeks) Each week we travel
to a different country ! $200
AFRICAN DANCE:
Groove to the rhythm of the Latin
salsa or African reggae. Keep warm
during winter and experience
another culture at the same time.
Course begin Jan. 10th
Fridays 7-9 p.m. (6 weeks) $120

Partner 1 : You are calling for information about a particular course. You need to
find out how much it is, when it begins, how long the course lasts and what days
and times the course will be held.

Partner 2 : You are a receptionist at Frontier College. You can use the list above to
answer questions about the courses.

Write it !
Write an ad for an exciting course.

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________
Functional Conversation:
In business and in your personal life, there are many ways to thank people and to
accept thanks. Here are some common expression of thanks and accepting of
thanks.

Thanking:
We would like to take this opportunity to thank...
We are here today to express our appreciation to...
We hope this medal/ award will help you remember how grateful we are.
I really appreciate you ...
I am extremely/so / very grateful.
We really didn’t know how to thank you.
I never got the chance to thank you.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for...
Thank you again.
Thank you so much for...
That was really thoughtful.
Thanks a lot.
Thanks a lot, sweetheart.
This is great, honey!
You didn’t have to do that.

Accepting Thanks:
We’re glad to help out.
Thank you.
Glad to be of help.
Don’t mention it.
Oh, it’s nothing, really.
My pleasure.
No problem.
Don’t worry about it.
It’s not a big deal.
You’re welcome.
It was my pleasure.
Go over these expressions in class with your teacher make sure you
understand all of them. Some of the expression are formal and some
are informal make sure you know the difference.
Role Play :
Act out the following situations with a partner. Don’t forget to
use the expressions from the previous page.
1. Thank one of your classmates for helping you with your English homework.
2. Thank one of your colleagues for help in an important presentation.
3. Thank your father for lending you some money.
4. Thank your mother for looking after your children for the weekend.
5. Thank a stranger for saving your life in a car accident.
6. Thank your friend for helping you through a crisis.

Now think of someone you would like to thank for something and act it out in
front of the class.

Irregular Past Tense

Since this unit is about the office. We will focus on verbs dealing with business.

Simple Present Simple Past

tell : She always tells me not to yell. told : She told me about her problem.

say : They say that money makes the
world go around.
take : Please take a message.
lose : I don´t want to lose my job.
find : Bruce finds a lot of information on
the internet.
meet : We always meet on our coffee
breaks
know : I know a lot of important people
in the business.
said : They said they didn’t like the job.
took : The receptionist took the message.
lost : Yesterday, my friend lost her job.
found : He found the information he
needed at the library.
met : I met an interesting candidate for
the position.
knew : I knew about the cutbacks in the
company, last week.

Exercises :
Complete the following sentences, using the past tense verbs above.
1. Tom ___________ me when we were in high school.
2. Angela __________ she wanted to go home.
3. Kevin and I ___________ an excellent deal on a new car.
4. I _________ an old friend for dinner.
5. We ___________ a taxi home because it was very late.
6. My boss _________ me that I was an excellent employee.
7. She _________ her wallet on her way to work.

Receptionist: Good afternoon, Xerox. May I

help you?
Mr. Stevens: Yes. There’s something wrong with the photocopier. The
paper keeps getting stuck.
Receptionist: Okay, I will connect you with customer service. They
can arrange to have a technician go to your office.
Technician: Hi, sir. The receptionist told me you are having some problems with
the photocopier. What seems to be the problem?
Mr. Stevens: The paper keeps jamming * in the machine.
We don’t know what to do. Could you come today and fix it?
Technician: I’m afraid we are very busy today. Could I come tomorrow?
Mr. Stevens: Would it be possible to come early in the morning, at 7:30?
Technician: How about at 8 a.m.?
Mr. Stevens: Alright, I guess that will have to do * . So I can expect you tomorrow
at 8 a.m.?
Technician: Yes. I´ll write that in my agenda. Our appointment is for tomorrow
Tuesday, March 31st at 8 a.m.
Mr. Stevens: Great. Could I please have your name?
Technician: Yes, it’s Robert Thompson.
Mr. Stevens: Thanks. My name is Joshua Stevens. Please ask for me when you
arrive tomorrow. I’m the office manager.
Technician: Sure, Mr. Stevens. See you tomorrow.

*Cultural Note: The verb to jam means to get stuck or to be blocked. We always
refer to things being jammed never people. The expression that will have to do
infers that there is a lack of satisfaction. In other words, it’s not the best solution
but he/she will have to deal with it.