Virtuous English AcademyCommunication & Phone — A2 English Vocabulary
This A2 vocabulary list gathers 30 elementary English words about communication & phone — talking, messaging and staying in touch. Every word comes with a simple definition, its British-English pronunciation and a natural example sentence, so you learn each one in real context. When you are ready, open the flashcards to practise and remember them for good.
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Using communication & phone words in English
Nearly every difficulty on this list is a verb that demands a particular structure after it. English speakers do not notice these patterns, but they are unforgiving: discuss refuses a preposition, complain insists on one, suggest will not take a person as its object, and agree is a verb rather than an adjective. Learning the four patterns below will fix more errors than learning the remaining twenty words on the page.
What to watch out for
Discuss takes no preposition; complain takes about
Say We discussed the problem, never discussed about the problem — discuss already contains the idea. But complain requires one: She complained about the noise, and complain to the person who can fix it. Reply also needs one — reply to my email — while answer refuses it: answer my email. These four verbs sit next to each other in meaning and behave in four different ways.
Suggest cannot take a person as its object
Suggest me a restaurant is one of the most common errors at this level. English needs either a that clause or an -ing form: I suggest that we meet at seven, or I suggest meeting at seven. To include the person, use a different verb: Can you recommend a restaurant? The same restriction applies to explain: explain it to me, not explain me it.
Agree is a verb, not an adjective
Say I agree, never I am agree. The prepositions divide by what follows: agree with a person or an opinion, agree to a proposal, agree on a decision reached together. Also note that British English uses ring and phone as verbs where Americans prefer call, and that text works as both noun and verb without changing shape.
Words learners mix up
Three tables: how loudly and how seriously people are talking, the words for using a phone now that phones have changed, and four social verbs that each demand a particular little word after them.
How the talking sounds
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| shout | To speak very loudly, from anger or from distance. Takes at when angry and to when far away. | Do not shout at your sister. |
| whisper | To speak very quietly, with almost no voice. Often followed by to and a person. | She whispered something to him. |
| argue | In everyday British English, to quarrel: they argue about money. In an essay it means to give reasons for a view. | My parents never argue in front of us. |
| chat | To talk in a friendly, unimportant way. Also the noun: a quick chat. Never about serious business. | We chatted for half an hour. |
Shout at and shout to are two different situations and swapping them is the commonest error here: you shout at somebody in anger and to somebody across a field. Argue is the word to be careful with in writing, because the two senses sit far apart — the writer argues that is neutral and academic, while we argued all evening means a row.
Using the phone
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| call | The everyday verb and noun. Call me takes no preposition, and the noun phrase is give me a call. | I will call you this evening. |
| telephone | The full noun, and a formal verb. It survives mainly in writing and in telephone number. | Please leave your telephone number. |
| dial | To enter a number. The word outlived the round dial it came from and still appears in instructions. | Dial 999 for an ambulance. |
| voicemail | The recorded message system, and the message itself. One word, and normally uncountable. | She left me a voicemail. |
In British speech the verb is ring at least as often as call — give me a ring, I rang her twice — while Americans use call throughout. Telephone as a verb now sounds distinctly formal, so keep it for a letter. And note that you leave a voicemail but check or listen to your voicemail; there is no verb voicemail.
Four social verbs and their small words
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| invite | Takes a person and then to an event or for a meal: invite them to the wedding. | They invited us to dinner. |
| greet | To say hello when somebody arrives. Formal, and it always takes a person as its object. | He greeted every guest at the door. |
| apologise | Takes to a person and for the thing: apologise to her for being late. Never a direct object. | I must apologise for the delay. |
| promise | Takes an infinitive or a clause: promise to call, promise that you will call. A person can go in between. | He promised to be here by six. |
Apologise is the one that catches everybody, because it cannot take the person directly: I apologise you has to become I apologise to you, and in speech it becomes I am sorry anyway. Note that British English writes it with -ise, along with realise and recognise, while American English uses -ize throughout.
Collocations that sound natural
The phrases below cover the practical business of reaching somebody and failing to reach them, which is most of what phone English is actually for.
conversation
have a conversationstart a conversationa long conversationa conversation about
The verb is have, never make or do, and the topic takes about. Two people have a conversation together — one person cannot have one alone.
call
make a callgive me a calla missed calltake a call
You make a call and the other person takes or answers it. A missed call is one you did not reach in time, and it is what the phone screen says.
text
send a textreply to a texta text messagetext me when you arrive
The noun and the verb share a shape, and the verb takes the person directly with no preposition: text me, not text to me.
contact
get in contactstay in contactcontact detailsa contact number
As a verb it takes the person straight after it: contact us, never contact with us. The preposition only appears in the noun phrases in contact with and get in touch with.
signal
a weak signalno signallose the signala good signal
What your phone needs in order to work. British speakers also say no reception and no bars. The unrelated original sense — a sign made to communicate — survives in signal to somebody.
notice
put up a noticetake no noticea notice boardgive notice
The noun is a written announcement on a wall; the verb means to see or become aware of something. Take no notice means ignore, and give notice means formally announce that you are leaving a job or a flat.
Where each word belongs
Six words with a place attached: two belong to writing and sound stiff out loud, one is spelled the British way, and one is a verb whose pattern has to be learned whole.
- telephoneWritten · formsThe full word survives on forms and in official writing — telephone number, by telephone — but nobody says it in conversation. Out loud it is phone, and the verb is phone, call or ring.
- chatInformal · two livesA friendly unimportant talk, and now also typing in a messaging window. British English uses it constantly in speech — a quick chat, have a chat with her — and it never suits a formal report, where the word is discussion.
- apologiseBritish spelling · formalThe -ise ending is British, -ize American. In speech people say I am sorry; I apologise belongs to emails, announcements and the moment when sorry is not enough.
- communicateFormal · abstractIt names the activity rather than the act, so it fits a report — the team communicates well — and sounds strange about a single message. Day to day, people say talk to, get in touch or let someone know.
- translateFixed prepositionsYou translate from one language into another — translate from Turkish into English — and into is the one learners replace with to. Interpret is the word when the translating is spoken and live.
- greetWritten · formalIt appears in descriptions and in customer-service instructions rather than in conversation: staff greet every customer. What you actually do is say hello, and the noun greeting is commoner than the verb.
Sentences to try
Four frames containing the four patterns above. Change the topics and say them about a real conversation you had.
- We discussed the plan for an hour.
- I suggest meeting outside the station.
- He complained about the service.
- I agree with you completely.
Questions about communication & phone vocabulary
Is it "discuss about" or just "discuss"?
Just discuss. The verb is transitive and takes its object directly: We discussed the budget. Adding about is one of the most frequent errors at A2 and B1, probably because the noun form does take it — a discussion about the budget is perfectly correct. Other verbs in the same family that refuse a preposition are answer, enter, marry and phone. The ones that require it include complain about, reply to, listen to and talk about.
Why can I not say "suggest me something"?
Because suggest in English never takes a person as a direct object. You suggest a thing or an action, not a person. The correct forms are I suggest a new plan, I suggest that you take the train and I suggest taking the train. If you want the person in the sentence, either add to — He suggested it to me — or use recommend, which does allow it: Can you recommend me a good film? The same rule blocks explain me, which must be explain to me.
Do I say "I agree" or "I am agree"?
I agree. Agree is a verb, so it does not need be in front of it, and I am agree is not possible in English. The negative is I do not agree or I disagree. Choose the preposition by what comes next: agree with a person or an idea, agree to a plan or a request, and agree on something two people decide together. The adjective that does take be is agreeable, but it means pleasant and is rarely what you want.