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Kooyeen Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

on the phone

0 Hi, 02br
00could you take a look at these?02br
02br
01b00I was on the phone 01i01u00to/with02u02i00 Bin Laden.02br
00Can I leave a message 01i01u00to/for02u02i00 Mr. Bin Laden?02br
00Moooom! Could you come 01i01u00to/on/...02u02i00 the phone? It's Bin Laden...02b02br
02br
00What are the possible choices and what are the usual one? Thanks 050010id1
  

Top answer

0I was on the phone to/with (both ok. To would mean that you phoned him, not that he had phoned you. 02br 02br 00Can I leave a message for02br 02br 00Could you come to the phone0-

— Nona the brit

  • 0I was on the phone to/with (both ok.
  • To would mean that you phoned him, not that he had phoned you.
  • 02br 02br 00Can I leave a message for02br 02br 00Could you come to the phone0-
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5 Answers
0
0I was on the phone to/with (both ok. To would mean that you phoned him, not that he had phoned you. With could mean either way round).02br
02br
00Can I leave a message for02br
02br
00Could you come to the phone0-
0
0
0 Thank you Nona. [y]02br
00Yeah, that sounds good, even though you are British. (kidding 05000)010id4
0
0
0 I'd use 02br
02br
00 on the phone with02br
00 leave a message for02br
00 come to the phone02br
02br
01i00on the phone 01u00to02u02i00 sounds weird to me -- is it a common turn of phrase in BrE?02br
00 Is is formed by analogy with 01i00on the way to02i00?
0
0
0I think 'to' is more common here than 'with'.02br
02br
00It's similar to 'I'm talking to Fred' instead of 'I'm talking with Fred'.0-
0
0
0 OK. Got it. I think I had got hold of the wrong end of the stick there.02br
02br
00 CJ0-
0

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