How to Summon Others

2025-01-04

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we consider part of a message from Henry.
    • 2
  • Here is one of Henry's questions:
    • 3
  • Greetings VOA Learning English team.
    • 4
  • I am a regular listener of your learning English program....
    • 5
  • I would like to ask this question about the correct or proper way to summon someone (i.e., asking someone to come and see you .... at home, school or work) in English:
    • 6
  • What expressions are used in summoning someone?
    • 7
  • Thank you for your question, Henry.
    • 8
  • It is an important and useful one.
    • 9
  • To summon means to call for a person or persons to be present, often for an important meeting.
    • 10
  • Please note that there are many ways to summon others.
    • 11
  • In this lesson, we will present a few general ways.
    • 12
  • When we speak to others directly, we can summon them with the following:
    • 13
  • Could you come here, please?
    • 14
  • We might also be more exact about the meeting place.
    • 15
  • For example, a supervisor or principal might say:
    • 16
  • Could you come to my office, please?
    • 17
  • You might also be more exact with what you would like to do. For example, you might ask:
    • 18
  • Could I talk to you for a moment?
    • 19
  • These questions are very general, polite, and useful in a lot of situations.
    • 20
  • But the way in which we summon others can differ depending on the situation, how familiar people are with each other, and the rank or status the speakers have.
    • 21
  • For example, consider a situation at home or school.
    • 22
  • A parent or teacher might summon a child or student with language like this:
    • 23
  • Come over here!
    • 24
  • Generally, this kind of a summons is followed by scolding, or criticism.
    • 25
  • So far, we have considered how English speakers might directly summon another person.
    • 26
  • But what do we say if we ask another person to communicate the information for us?
    • 27
  • When an intermediary communicates the information, they might use the very general formula:
    • 28
  • _____ would like to see you.
    • 29
  • or
    • 30
  • ____ wants to see you.
    • 31
  • We can use an example to clarify this point.
    • 32
  • Boss: Tanya, could you ask Joe to come see me?
    • 33
  • Tanya: Sure.
    • 34
  • Tanya: Joe, the boss would like to see you.
    • 35
  • Joe: Ok. I'll be there right away.
    • 36
  • Our examples can be used in a number of situations.
    • 37
  • At school, a teacher might say, "The principal would like to see you" or "The principal wants to see you."
    • 38
  • At home, a brother or sister might say, "Mom would like to see you" or "Mom wants to see you."
    • 39
  • English speakers usually consider the structure "would like" to be a little more polite and formal.
    • 40
  • For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American English? We want to hear from you!
    • 41
  • Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
    • 42
  • Please let us know where you are from, too.
    • 43
  • And that's Ask a Teacher!
    • 44
  • I'm John Russell.