The Present Perfect Tense

Answer the Phone

A Business Conversation on the Phone

George: What's your name?

Mary: My name is Mary. What's your name?

.George: My name is George. Where are you from, Mary?

Mary: I am from Chicago. Where are you from, George?

George: I am from New York.

Mary: Oh, I love to see New York. It's one of the most interesting cities in the world.

George: Why not drop a line when you have a chance to come to New York?

Mary: Sure. I'll do that.

George: Here is my telephone number.

Mary: That's great. I will call you. Here is my number if you come to Chicago.

Related Questions:

1. How old are you?
2. Where are you from?
3. What's your education?
4. What do you do for a living?
5. What's your marital status?
6. What are your interests?
7. Do you have a hobby?
8. Do you travel?
9. Which countries did you travel to?
10. What'd you think about these countries' cultures?

Answers:

1. My name is Mary.
2. I am twenty-four years old .
3. I'm from the United States. I live in Chicago.
4. I'm a college graduate. I studied software engineering in college.
5. I work for Microsoft as a software engineer.
6. I'm married. I have two children, one boy and girl.
7. I enjoy dancing, meeting new people, and traveling.
8. I have two hobbies: I write. I write short stories. I play tennis in my spare time.
9. Yes, I do. I travel in the United States, Europe and Africa.
10. Well, the more I travel the more I see this: there are different ways of living our lives, surviving it and enjoying it. Africa is a definite wonder.

Vocabulary:

enjoy: to like doing things. Example: I enjoy going movies; I enjoy dancing.

marital status: being married, unmarried, single or widow or widower

interests: the things we like to do

hobby: the things we do. For example, cooking, writing poetry, painting, playing sports

spare time: free time. Example: I have plenty of spare time now. I work only 3 days a week.

Well: It shows some hesitation to give a negative response to a question. We use 'Well' in the beginning of answering a question. Example: Do you like the United States? Answer: Well, I like certain things about the US but not everything. This answer suggests a hesitation to say a direct 'No, I don't like the US'.

definite: without question, certainly

wonder: extra ordinary

survive: to be able to continue living. Example: I have lost my job. But I still survive. My wife has good job.

Idiomatic Phrases:

to be from: to be born and lived in a country up to the present.

to be married: to be in marriage: Example: I am married for six years; He is married to a Japanese woman.

the more I travel, the more I see: It is used to emphasize a relationship between two ideas. The more ...., the more.. Use a complete sentence or a phrase between the two more. Example: The more I read this book, the more I learn about computers. The more education, the more opportunity for a better job. The more practice, the more improvement you will make with your English.

surviving life: to be able to do well in life. Life brings us challenges. if we survive life, that means we are fine, doing ok; we stay alive.

enjoying life: Taking pleasure out of your life.

think of: To have certain opinion of things, places and people. Example: What do you think of your new boss? This sentence means: What is your opinion of your new boss? What do yo think of the Iraq War? What do you think of President George Bush?

Why not: to recommend doing something. Example: why not go to the beach today? It is hot today. Why not take a course in computers? These sentences mean: I recommend going to the beach; i recommend you take a course in computers.

drop a line: write a note. Example: Drop a line when you get a chance. This sentence means: Write to me when you have a chance.

Grammar:

What's: What is. When talking the sound 'is' pronounced as 's' after 'What'