Phone calls · Talking
hold the line
wait on the phone
Wait on the telephone without ending the call.
This vs that
Please hold the line.
Please hold on.
Hear it in real life
Can I speak to someone about my account?
Certainly. Please hold the line while I put you through.
Could you hold the line while I check whether the manager is available?
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
Phone staff commonly use this polite, concise chunk when they need the caller to wait.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: Please keep the line for a moment.
Say: Please hold the line for a moment.
Use “hold” when asking someone to wait on a phone call.
Build it
How it fits in a sentence.
hold the line; please hold the line
Phrases to borrow
More for talking about phone calls.
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me? I'm on the train.
I'll give you a ring
I'll give you a ring when I get home.
Phone calls words
Talking · Phone calls: the words around “hold the line”.
More connectionsEasy to mix up · More phone calls words9
Your turn: say it out loud
Could you hold the line for a moment?
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
hold the line
wait on the phone
“Could you hold the line while I check whether the manager is available?”
heytardy