'Call'
2024-05-11
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Mohammad about the word "call."
2Dear Teacher,
3Hi, my name is Mohammad.
4I hope this email finds you well.
5 First of all, I'd like to gratefully thank you because of your attempts and commitment.
6I'm writing to ask about the word "call."
7I 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.
8I [would] appreciate if you let me know the differences between [the] different meaning[s] of this word.
9Thank you for writing, Mohammad. This is a very good question.
10The Merriam-Webster Dictionary lists almost 50 definitions for the word "call".
11It is, as you say, a challenging word.
12We cannot talk about all the meanings of "call," but we have time to look at some of the more common ones.
13Note that "call" can be both a noun and a verb.
14The 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.
16One simple meaning might be to contact someone by phone.
17I need to call my wife.
18Call me back later.
19We can also use "call" to ask someone to come to us. For example,
20There was an accident. Call the police.
21It's late. Let's call a taxi.
22Very often, "call" describes someone or something.
23Usually, it is linked to an unpleasant description. For example,
24I would not call the man bright.
25It's not nice to call people stupid.
26We often use "call" in the passive voice when we do not want to say or do not know who is causing the action.
27The show has been called long and boring.
28Some phrasal verbs also use "call," such as "call for," "call out."
29These are very common in news writing.
30"Call for" means to plan something or demand that something happen.
31The organization called for a members' meeting.
32This calls for change.
33"Call out" means to criticize someone or ask them to explain their actions. For example,
34The man was called out for being rude.
35The teacher called out the students who were late.
36We 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.
37But we are out of time now. In other words, we have to call it quits.
38We hope this explanation has helped you, Mohammad.
39Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
40And that's Ask a Teacher.
41I'm Gena Bennett.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Mohammad about the word "call." 2Question 3Dear Teacher, 4Hi, my name is Mohammad. 5I hope this email finds you well. First of all, I'd like to gratefully thank you because of your attempts and commitment. 6I'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. 7I [would] appreciate if you let me know the differences between [the] different meaning[s] of this word. 8Best regards 9Answer 10Thank you for writing, Mohammad. This is a very good question. 11The Merriam-Webster Dictionary lists almost 50 definitions for the word "call". It is, as you say, a challenging word. 12We cannot talk about all the meanings of "call," but we have time to look at some of the more common ones. 13Note 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. 15I need to call my wife. 16Call me back later. 17We can also use "call" to ask someone to come to us. For example, 18There was an accident. Call the police. 19It's late. Let's call a taxi. 20Very often, "call" describes someone or something. Usually, it is linked to an unpleasant description. For example, 21I would not call the man bright. 22It's not nice to call people stupid. 23We often use "call" in the passive voice when we do not want to say or do not know who is causing the action. 24The show has been called long and boring. 25Some 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. 27The organization called for a members' meeting. 28This calls for change. 29"Call out" means to criticize someone or ask them to explain their actions. For example, 30The man was called out for being rude. 31The teacher called out the students who were late. 32We 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. 33We hope this explanation has helped you, Mohammad. 34Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. 35And that's Ask a Teacher. 36I'm Gena Bennett. 37Gena Bennett wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 38_____________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40challenging - adj. requiring a lot of effort 41call it quits-phrase to agree to stop