Touchstone 2nd Edition Language summary Level 3

Unit 10 Lesson C: I was wondering . . .

Vocabulary
leave (work early) (v)
sign (an expense form) (v)

Conversation strategies
Asking for a favor politely
You can use these expressions to ask for a favor politely. They are useful in formal situations or
if you are asking someone a big favor:

I was wondering, . . .
I was wondering, could you write a reference for me?

I was wondering if I / you could . . .

I was wondering if I could ask you something.

I wanted to . . .
Well, I wanted to ask a favor, actually.

Would it be all right / OK with you if I . . . ? (+ past form of verb)

Would it be OK with you if I picked it up next Monday?

All right, OK, So, Sure

You can use All right, OK, and Sure to agree to requests:
A I was wondering if I could ask you something.
B Sure.

You can use All right, OK, and So to move a conversation to a new phase or topic:
All right. So, what can I do for you?

You can use Right to show you agree or understand:

A I'd like you to work on those sales figures today.
B Right. You need them for your presentation.

Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 10, Lesson C, Page 1