This is she: how to identify yourself on the phone

  Click PLAY for sound

Let's say your phone rings, and the caller asks for you: "May I speak with Mary Smith?" How do you say it's you? One way is simply to say: "This is Mary Smith." But most often, Americans will answer in the third person: "This is she". Or if you are a John Smith, and the caller asks to speak to you, you'll say "This is he." or "This is John Smith". That's how Americans say it on the phone - and ONLY on the phone, besides the conventional "Speaking" of course. If you need to identify yourself in a face-to-face communication, let's say you are in a meeting and you answer the roll call, "Mary Smith?", you simply say: "Here".

© 2008 Natasha Cooper

Would you like to use this article? You may as long as you include the following information along with the article: Natasha Cooper, author of Power English System, helps international professionals and newcomers to America to succeed in the U.S. by learning American English and powerful communication skills. If you want tips on improving your English, then you’ll want to get Natasha’s F-R-E-E weekly Power English Minute E-zine by visiting www.englishskills.com.