Learn how to ask someone to leave somebody a message
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. This is Business German for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 22 - Leaving a Message for a Colleague. John Here. |
| Jennifer: Guten Tag! I'm Jennifer. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask someone to leave somebody a message. The conversation takes place on the phone. |
| Jennifer: It's between a receptionist and Linda Müller. |
| John: The speakers are strangers, therefore, they will speak formal German. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Rezeptionist: Frau Schmitt ist nicht in ihrem Büro. |
| Linda Müller: Können Sie Ihr etwas ausrichten? |
| Rezeptionist: Ja gerne, was darf ich ihr mitteilen? |
| Linda Müller: Bitte sagen Sie ihr, dass der Sachbearbeiter das Gutachten bereits abgeschickt hat und dass sie ihn bitte kontaktieren soll. |
| Rezeptionist: Ich werde ihr Bescheid geben sobald sie zurück ist. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Rezeptionist: Frau Schmitt ist nicht in ihrem Büro. |
| Linda Müller: Können Sie Ihr etwas ausrichten? |
| Rezeptionist: Ja gerne, was darf ich ihr mitteilen? |
| Linda Müller: Bitte sagen Sie ihr, dass der Sachbearbeiter das Gutachten bereits abgeschickt hat und dass sie ihn bitte kontaktieren soll. |
| Rezeptionist: Ich werde ihr Bescheid geben sobald sie zurück ist. |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Receptionist: Mrs. Smith is not in her office. |
| Linda Müller: Can I leave a message with you? |
| Receptionist: Yes, what should I let her know? |
| Linda Müller: Please tell her that the consultant has sent the results and that she should get in contact with him. |
| Receptionist: I'll let her know as soon as she is back. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: I wonder why she’s out of the office. |
| Jennifer: It could be many reasons. She could have a meeting, or have gone to speak with a colleague. |
| John: Yeah. I guess if she was off work, the receptionist would have said. |
| Jennifer: Maybe. But everyone does get der Urlaubsanspruch. |
| John: What’s that? |
| Jennifer: “Holiday entitlement.” |
| John: What are the vacation rules in Germany? How many days paid vacation do workers get? |
| Jennifer: 20 days off from work is mandatory with the five-day work-week. |
| John: So everyone gets 20 days? |
| Jennifer: That’s the minimum. Some businesses and companies may give more. 30 days is pretty common too. |
| John: Nice! How about things like Christmas bonuses? Are they common in Germany? |
| Jennifer: That’s a voluntary financial payment. It differs from company to company. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Jennifer: Büro [natural native speed] |
| John: office |
| Jennifer: Büro[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Büro [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: ausrichten [natural native speed] |
| John: to tell |
| Jennifer: ausrichten[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: ausrichten [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: mitteilen [natural native speed] |
| John: to inform, to communicate with |
| Jennifer: mitteilen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: mitteilen [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: Sachbearbeiter [natural native speed] |
| John: clerk |
| Jennifer: Sachbearbeiter[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Sachbearbeiter [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: Gutachten [natural native speed] |
| John: report |
| Jennifer: Gutachten[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Gutachten [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Jennifer: zurück sein [natural native speed] |
| John: to be back |
| Jennifer: zurück sein[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: zurück sein [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of one of the phrases from this lesson. The phrase is... |
| Jennifer: nicht im Büro sein |
| John: meaning "being not in the office." Can you break this down for us? |
| Jennifer: Sure. First is nicht sein. |
| John: which means “not to be.” What’s the second part? |
| Jennifer: im Büro |
| John: which means “in the office.” You might hear this phrase used by a receptionist. Can you give us an example using this expression? |
| Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say, Ich bin nicht im Büro. |
| John: ...which means "I am not in the office." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask someone to leave a message. |
| Jennifer: In some circumstances, you’ll need to ask someone to give a message on your behalf. |
| John: So let’s look at how to politely ask this. |
| Jennifer: You can say, Können Sie Ihr etwas ausrichten? |
| John: “Can I leave a message with you?” Let’s break this down. First is... |
| Jennifer: Können |
| John: a modal verb. Next is... |
| Jennifer: Sie |
| John: the formal version of “you.” Then... |
| Jennifer: etwas |
| John: the accusative object and finally… |
| Jennifer: ausrichten. This is the second verb. |
| John: Using that modal verb makes it polite. You can also use a conjunctive, or phrase it like a suggestion. |
| Jennifer: For example, Würden Sie so nett sein und ihr folgendes ausrichten? |
| John: “Would you be so kind and let her know the following?” |
| Jennifer: Könnten Sie dies ihm mitteilen? |
| John: “Could you let him know about it?” After asking if we can leave a message and being told that we can, what’s next? |
| Jennifer: Leaving the message! |
| John: How can we do that? |
| Jennifer: You can use Bitte sagen Sie ihr, and a subclause starting with dass. |
| John: What can you tell us about the subclause? |
| Jennifer: We can use a noun clause, and make sure that the verb comes at the end. |
| John: When leaving someone a message, indirect speech is used. Let’s hear an example. |
| Jennifer: Bitte hinterlassen Sie ihr die Notiz, dass der Termin ausfällt. |
| John: “Please leave her a note that the meeting is cancelled.” |
| Jennifer: You could also say Könnten Sie ihm mittteilen, dass ich morgen nicht kommen kann? |
| John: “Could you let him know that I can't make it tomorrow?” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Jennifer: Auf Wiedersehen! |
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