Hi everyone thanks for clicking. I’m Niharika and in today’s lesson, we are gonna look
at some expressions to ask someone to wait. Now when do you do that? You know at times
we are busy with something and we are unable to attend a person at that very moment, so
you end up asking that person to wait. So do you end up saying wait or be patient? No,
you don’t do that, now in English we do have some phrases to ask someone to wait,
so that’s what we are gonna learn today. So let’s get started.
The very first phrase that we have for you is, hang on a moment or hold on. Now both of these expressions
are informal expressions. But then they sound pretty polite, so it’s okay to use in a
formal situation as well. So if someone calls you and you’re busy, so you ask him to wait
by saying, hang on a moment or hold on. You can do that over the phone and as well as
in person. So if you are able to get back in couple of seconds or in few minutes or
in a short period, then use the phrase that hang on a moment or hold on. Let’s have
a look at second phrase here; I’ll be right with you. Now this expression is just perfect,
if you belong to a customer service industry. For example, a customer is here to wait, is
here to meet you and you want him to wait. Maybe you’re doing something and you’ll
be only able to attend this person in few minutes, so you’re not gonna again say be
patient or wait. No, you’re gonna say, I’ll be right with you, so this is a very polite
expression and it’s just perfect, if you are into customer service. So you just wanna
get done with the work that you are doing and attend this customer on immediate basis.
So use the phrase, I’ll be right with you. And also make sure to use the right tone,
you cannot say I’ll be right with you. Now that’s wrong, you’re gonna say, I’ll
be right with you, youre gonna be nice and polite. Another one is bear with me. Now again
this expression can be used over the telephone and as well as in person. Now bear with me
is probably a perfect expression to be used, when you are really busy and it’s taking
long for you to get back. So it’s not for short period that, you’re asking that person
to wait. Hang on a moment or hold on is perfect, if you are gonna get back to that person in
just a short period, but when you say bear with me. It means that you are gonna take
a little longer. So you’re gonna take a longer time, so you would say bear with me.
So the actual meaning or the literal meaning of this phrase is like, be patient. Like I
said, you cannot end up telling someone or asking someone to be patient. A better phrase
to use is bear with me. So it actually means to be patient. Let’s have a look at another
one, let me see. Now when do you use this phrase? Let me see, someone comes up to you
and asks you a question. Now when you end up saying, Ahhh, let me see. It means that
you’re buying time to think. So you’re not directly asking that person to wait, but
you’re actually buying time to think. So for example, a person comes to you and asks
you that, hey do you have any messages for me and probably yes, you have some messages
for this person, but you just can’t remember, so you’ll say, Ahh let me see and then you
go tell him that yes there are couple of messages for you. So let me see or can be used, when
you are buying time to think and make sure that when you use this expression within couple
of seconds or within couple of minutes, you end up saying what you have to, you can’t
just take forever. It has to be done quick. Another expression that I have for you is,
all in good time. Now when do you use this expression? Now when you want enough time
to do something or finish your work or to finish up with something. Like for example,
your daughter comes in and says, Hey mom I’m starving, is the dinner ready yet? Mom says,
all in good time. So all in good time, it means that you need enough time to cook something
really nice for your daughter. So that’s how you would use this expression. Another
example, your boss gives you a project to work on and he says, well when are you gonna
finish this? So you would end up saying, all in good time. So this means that you need
enough time to do a good job on this project. So you’re buying enough time from that person
to do something better. So go ahead and use this expression as an when required. So these
are couple of expressions that would help you to ask someone to wait. Now when the person
is done waiting, what do you say? Well, here are some expressions. The first one, I apologize
for the delay. So maybe you were in a meeting and someone else was waiting outside for you,
yes maybe your secretary said, he’ll be right with you, but it took a little longer
for you to attend that person. So you are gonna apologize and how do you do that? You’re
gonna say, I apologize for the delay. Another one, Thank you so much for waiting, now here
you appreciate that person’s time, that person waited for you, till the time you finished
your work. So you’re gonna thank him to do so, the expression that you will end up
using is, Thank you so much for waiting. And then the last expression that I have for you
is again, Apologizing, so how do you do that, sorry to keep you waiting. This expression
can be used, when that person has been waiting for you for a real long time. So either you
can say, thank you so much for waiting. It means that you appreciate his time and then
you can say by apologizing, sorry to keep you waiting. So please do that, this really
shows your manners. So it’s not just that you’re asking that person to wait, but when
that person really waits, appreciate their time. So these are the expressions that you
can end up using in your daily situations. So let’s just quickly revise them, when
you want someone to wait, you’re gonna say, hang on a moment or hold on or you can say
I’ll be right with you or you can say, bear with me. Another one hmmm let me see and then
the last one is, all in good time. So these are the expressions, when you want someone
to wait and then the other three expressions are, Thanking and Apologizing, because that
person really waited for you. So I apologize for the delay. Thank you so much for waiting
and then the last one that I have for you is, Sorry to keep you waiting. So hope these
expressions are really helpful to you and I’ll be back with a new lesson. Till then
you take care.