Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts (29 page)

Could I take a message?
the phrase used on the telephone to offer to take a message and give it to the person the caller is seeking. (Also with
can
or
may
.)
B
ILL
: Can I talk to Fred? M
ARY
: He's not here. Could I take a message?
“May I take a message?” asked Mary politely.

Could I take your order (now)?
an expression used by food service personnel to determine if the customer is ready to order food. (Also with
can
or
may
.)
W
AITER
: May I take your order now? M
ARY
: Of course. Jane, what are you going to have? J
ANE
: I'm having what you're having. M
ARY
: Oh. W
AITER
: I'll be back in a minute
.
M
ARY
: This is a nice place. B
ILL
: Yes, it is. W
AITER
: Can I take your order? M
ARY
: Yes, we're ready.

Could I tell
someone
who's calling?
a question asked by telephone answerers to find out politely who is asking for someone. (
Someone
is replaced by a person's name or by a pronoun. Also used with
can
or
may
in place of
could
.)
M
ARY
(on the phone): Hello. Could I speak to Bill Franklin? S
ALLY
: Could I tell him who's calling?
B
ILL
(speaking on the phone): Is Tom there? M
ARY
: May I tell him who's calling? B
ILL
: It's Bill. M
ARY
: Just a minute.

Could I use your powder room?
AND
Where is your powder room?
a polite way to ask to use the bathroom in someone's home. (Refers to powdering one's nose. Also used with
can
or
may
in place of
could
.)
M
ARY
: Oh, Sally, could I use your powder room? S
ALLY
: Of course. It's just off the kitchen, on the left
.
T
OM
:
Nice place you've got here. Uh, where is your powder room? B
ETH
: At the top of the stairs.

Could we continue this later?
Could we go on with this conversation at a later time? (Also used with
can
or
may
in place of
could
.)
B
OB
: After that, we both ended up going out for a pizza. S
UE
: Could we continue this later? I have some work I have to get done. B
OB
: Sure. No problem
.
As Mary and John were discussing something private, Bob entered the room. “Could we continue this later?” whispered John. “Yes, of course,” answered Mary.

Could you excuse us, please?
AND
Would you excuse us, please?; Will you excuse us, please?
We must leave. I hope you will forgive us. (A polite way of announcing a departure. Also with
can
in place of
could
.)
B
ILL
: Will you excuse us, please? We really must leave now. B
OB
: Oh, sure. Nice to see you
.
B
ILL
: Could you excuse us, please? We simply must rush off. A
LICE
: So sorry you have to go. Come back when you can stay longer.