Hello
everyone
Welcome to Oral English
Learn to Talk
In this lesson
we are going to learn
how to make an appointment in English
As you know
making appointments is a part of
almost everyone’s life
The scheduling of appointment
is very important in Western culture
If you want to visit somebody
or invite somebody to do something
the best way is to make an appointment
with him in advance
because most Westerners
often keep a strict personal schedule
They don't welcome unexpected visitors
Usually for a Western businessman
three schedules are kept
one for daily events
one for weekly planning
and one for long term planning
You have to show respect
for their cultural custom
It is also necessary to
make an appointment with a doctor
dentist or lawyer
You should call as far in advance as possible
If you want to have an interview or a date
you should also make an appointment beforehand
Often appointments are made on the phone
by talking with the person
directly or with his secretary
who can help him to arrange the appointment
Remember to tell him or her directly
why you want to meet him or her
Before making an appointment
you must know the full name
and title of the person you want to meet
If necessary
you can check with his secretary
All the appointments should
be double-checked for accuracy
If you get organized ahead of time
you can set appointments
for yourself quickly and easily
You’ll also be able to eliminate
the possibility of scheduling conflicts
and efficiently manage your time every day
So
to better prepare you
for making appointments in English
we will deal with
the following questions in this session
How to ask for an appointment
How to confirm an appointment
How to say a time date is not convenient
How to cancel an appointment
How to suggest a different
date and set a time
We are going to have a look
at some of the phrases
and expressions about these questions
in neutral and informal situations
Use neutral phrases in most general
and business situations
and informal phrases for close colleagues
friends and family members
But remember
many of these phrases
can be used in more than one situation
so by the end of this session
a couple of students
will show us
how they use these sentence
patterns in various situations
Are you ready
Let’s get started
Let’s come to the first question
How to ask for an appointment
There are some neutral phrases
for example
Are you available on the 17th
Someone who is available
is not busy
and is therefore free to talk to you
or to do a particular task
Would Friday suit you
Is next Tuesday convenient for you?
Can we meet on the 16th
How does the 3rd sound to you
Are you free next week
For the last two expressions
we can also use with friends and colleagues
Let’s have a look at some informal
phrases to ask for an appointment
such as
What about sometime next week
What are you doing next weekend
Fancy coming out tomorrow evening
Pay close attention to the last one
if you fancy something
you want to have it or to do it
Fancy doing sth
is an informal way to express
one’s desire or liking for sth
Let’s come to the second question
How to confirm an appointment
If you confirm an arrangement or appointment
you say that it is definite
usually in a letter or on the telephone
There are some neutral phrases
for example
Yes
Thursday is fine
Thursday suits me
Thursday would be perfect
And some informal phrases
such as
Yes Thursday’s great for me
Yes sounds good to me
Then
How to say a time date is not convenient
For example
I’m afraid I can’t on Monday
I’m sorry
I can’t on Tuesday
I won’t be able to meet on Wednesday
I really don’t think I can on Thursday
Sometimes
things come up and we have to cancel
a previous engagement or appointment
When this happens
the best thing you can do is to apologize
and find another time to meet
Let’s come to some neutral phrases
about canceling an appointment
For example
I’m very sorry
but something urgent has come up
and I won’t be able to meet you
I’m afraid that
I’m not going to be able to meet you after all
Can we fix another time
Something has just cropped up
and I won’t be able to meet you this afternoon
Can we make another time
I’m afraid that
I have to cancel our meeting on Wednesday
as something unexpected has come up
Would you be free to meet early next week
Pay attention to the phrases come up
crop up in the above sentences
both mean something happens
suddenly or unexpectedly
they are used to explain the reason
And on formal occasions
such as business settings
we may say
Unfortunately
due to some unforeseen business
I will be unable to keep our appointment
for tomorrow afternoon
Would it be possible to arrange
another time later in the week
On informal occasions
such as with friends and colleagues
we can say Look
I’m sorry to do this to you
but I can’t meet up tomorrow
Let’s move on to the last two questions
how to suggest a different date
and set a different time
To suggest a different date
we can say I’m sorry
I won’t be able to make it on Monday
Could we meet on Tuesday instead
Ah
Wednesday is going to be a little difficult
I’d much prefer Friday
if that’s alright with you
I’m afraid I can’t on the 3rd
What about the 6th
I really don’t think I can on the 17th
Can we meet up on the 19th
For the last two expressions
we can also use with friends and colleagues
And we may also say
No – that’s no good for me
What are you doing Friday
To set a time
we can use questions to
inquire about others’ opinion
What sort of time would suit you
Is 3pm a good time for you
How does 2pm sound to you
Or you can state your ideas directly by saying
If possible
I’d like to meet in the morning
on formal occasions and OK
Let’s say at around 2
Cool
Let’s make it at 2
in informal situations
Ok
guys
in this session
we discussed the following questions
How to ask for an appointment
How to confirm an appointment
How to say a time date is not convenient
How to suggest a different date and set a time
With this new information
you are now equipped
with useful sentences to make
change or cancel appointments
Besides the expressions we learned today
you should also bear in mind
that don't be late for the appointment
You have to get to the meeting place on time
If something urgent happens
which prevents you from keeping the appointment
you can change or cancel
the appointment immediately
It is very impolite for you
to fail to keep an appointment
I wonder if the dentist
could fit me in early tomorrow
I’m afraid there’s nothing
available before noon
How about 12:45
Sorry but she’s busy then too
Would Dr. Block
be able to see me at 9:30 tomorrow
I’m sorry
but she won’t have any openings until 11:00
unless there’s a cancellation
Would 1:00 be convenient
Yes she’s free then
I'd like to make an appointment
with Professor Smith
Would 9:00 tomorrow be all right
I'm afraid not
She doesn't have any openings in the morning
Could I possibly make it early in the afternoon
No
That's not good either
But give me your number
and I'll call you if somebody cancels
Do you think the doctor
could see me tomorrow before 9:30
She won't be in until 10:45
so the earliest would be 11:00
How would 12:45 be
Just a second
I'll have to check
Good morning I would like to speak to Jeremy
please
This is me
Hello this is Lynn
I am calling from Smith.co
.uk and would like to
set up an interview with you
Ah yes
Let me look at my diary
When would be convenient for you
Anytime after lunch
How about Thursday Does that work for you
I’m afraid I might be out of town on Thursday
How does Friday sound to you
Friday sounds great
Shall we meet here at four o’clock
See you then Bye
We should talk more about this some other time
Maybe we should have another meeting
Good idea
When can we meet
How does sometime tomorrow sound
I have an idea let’s do lunch
That’s no good
I already have a luncheon date
Let’s meet sometime in the afternoon
How about 2:30
Sounds good to me
See you then
bye