'Call'

2024-05-11

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1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Mohammad about the word "call."
  • 2
  • Dear Teacher,
  • 3
  • Hi, my name is Mohammad.
  • 4
  • I hope this email finds you well.
  • 5
  • First of all, I'd like to gratefully thank you because of your attempts and commitment.
  • 6
  • I'm writing to ask about the word "call."
  • 7
  • I often face this word in different shapes (call, call in, call for, etc.), and I've understood that it has lots of meaning that is challenging for me.
  • 8
  • I [would] appreciate if you let me know the differences between [the] different meaning[s] of this word.
  • 9
  • Thank you for writing, Mohammad. This is a very good question.
  • 10
  • The Merriam-Webster Dictionary lists almost 50 definitions for the word "call".
  • 11
  • It is, as you say, a challenging word.
  • 12
  • We cannot talk about all the meanings of "call," but we have time to look at some of the more common ones.
  • 13
  • Note that "call" can be both a noun and a verb.
  • 14
  • The verb "call" is much more common and has many more meanings.
  • 15
  • "Call" is a communication verb. We use it to talk about speaking and writing.
  • 16
  • One simple meaning might be to contact someone by phone.
  • 17
  • I need to call my wife.
  • 18
  • Call me back later.
  • 19
  • We can also use "call" to ask someone to come to us. For example,
  • 20
  • There was an accident. Call the police.
  • 21
  • It's late. Let's call a taxi.
  • 22
  • Very often, "call" describes someone or something.
  • 23
  • Usually, it is linked to an unpleasant description. For example,
  • 24
  • I would not call the man bright.
  • 25
  • It's not nice to call people stupid.
  • 26
  • We often use "call" in the passive voice when we do not want to say or do not know who is causing the action.
  • 27
  • The show has been called long and boring.
  • 28
  • Some phrasal verbs also use "call," such as "call for," "call out."
  • 29
  • These are very common in news writing.
  • 30
  • "Call for" means to plan something or demand that something happen.
  • 31
  • The organization called for a members' meeting.
  • 32
  • This calls for change.
  • 33
  • "Call out" means to criticize someone or ask them to explain their actions. For example,
  • 34
  • The man was called out for being rude.
  • 35
  • The teacher called out the students who were late.
  • 36
  • We also use "call" in many expressions such as call in sick, call it a day, call it quits, call into question, and call the shots.
  • 37
  • But we are out of time now. In other words, we have to call it quits.
  • 38
  • We hope this explanation has helped you, Mohammad.
  • 39
  • Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
  • 40
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
  • 41
  • I'm Gena Bennett.
  • 1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Mohammad about the word "call."
  • 2
  • Question
  • 3
  • Dear Teacher,
  • 4
  • Hi, my name is Mohammad.
  • 5
  • I hope this email finds you well. First of all, I'd like to gratefully thank you because of your attempts and commitment.
  • 6
  • I'm writing to ask about the word "call." I often face this word in different shapes (call, call in, call for, etc.), and I've understood that it has lots of meaning that is challenging for me.
  • 7
  • I [would] appreciate if you let me know the differences between [the] different meaning[s] of this word.
  • 8
  • Best regards
  • 9
  • Answer
  • 10
  • Thank you for writing, Mohammad. This is a very good question.
  • 11
  • The Merriam-Webster Dictionary lists almost 50 definitions for the word "call". It is, as you say, a challenging word.
  • 12
  • We cannot talk about all the meanings of "call," but we have time to look at some of the more common ones.
  • 13
  • Note that "call" can be both a noun and a verb. The verb "call" is much more common and has many more meanings.
  • 14
  • "Call" is a communication verb. We use it to talk about speaking and writing. One simple meaning might be to contact someone by phone.
  • 15
  • I need to call my wife.
  • 16
  • Call me back later.
  • 17
  • We can also use "call" to ask someone to come to us. For example,
  • 18
  • There was an accident. Call the police.
  • 19
  • It's late. Let's call a taxi.
  • 20
  • Very often, "call" describes someone or something. Usually, it is linked to an unpleasant description. For example,
  • 21
  • I would not call the man bright.
  • 22
  • It's not nice to call people stupid.
  • 23
  • We often use "call" in the passive voice when we do not want to say or do not know who is causing the action.
  • 24
  • The show has been called long and boring.
  • 25
  • Some phrasal verbs also use "call," such as "call for," "call out." These are very common in news writing.
  • 26
  • "Call for" means to plan something or demand that something happen.
  • 27
  • The organization called for a members' meeting.
  • 28
  • This calls for change.
  • 29
  • "Call out" means to criticize someone or ask them to explain their actions. For example,
  • 30
  • The man was called out for being rude.
  • 31
  • The teacher called out the students who were late.
  • 32
  • We also use "call" in many expressions such as call in sick, call it a day, call it quits, call into question, and call the shots. But we are out of time now. In other words, we have to call it quits.
  • 33
  • We hope this explanation has helped you, Mohammad.
  • 34
  • Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
  • 35
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
  • 36
  • I'm Gena Bennett.
  • 37
  • Gena Bennett wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 38
  • _____________________________________________
  • 39
  • Words in This Story
  • 40
  • challenging - adj. requiring a lot of effort
  • 41
  • call it quits-phrase to agree to stop