Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we consider part of a message from Henry. Here is one
of Henry's questions. Greetings, VOA Learning English team. I am a regular listener of your
learning English program. I would like to ask this question about the correct or proper
way to summon someone, i.e. asking someone to come and see you, at home, school, or work,
in English. What expressions are used in summoning someone? Thank you for your question, Henry.
It is an important and useful one. To summon means to call for a person or persons to be
present, often for an important meeting. Please note that there are many ways to summon others.
In this lesson, we will present a few general ways. When we speak to others directly, we
can summon them with the following. Could you come here, please? We might also be more
exact about the meeting place. For example, a supervisor or principal might say, could
you come to my office, please? You might also be more exact with what you would like to
do. For example, you might ask, could I talk to you for a moment? These questions are very
general, polite, and useful in a lot of situations. But the way in which we summon others can
differ depending on the situation, how familiar people are with each other, and the rank or
status the speakers have. For example, consider a situation at home or school. A parent or
teacher might summon a child or student with language like this. Come over here. Generally,
this kind of summons is followed by scolding or criticism. So far, we have considered how
English speakers might directly summon another person. But what do we say if we ask another
person to communicate the information for us? When an intermediary communicates the information,
they might use the very general formula, blank would like to see you or blank wants to see you.
We can use an example to clarify this point. Tanya, could you ask Joe to come see me? Sure.
Joe, the boss would like to see you. Okay, I'll be there right away. Our examples can be used in a
number of situations. At school, a teacher might say, the principal would like to see you, or the
principal wants to see you. At home, a brother or sister might say, mom would like to see you,
or mom wants to see you. English speakers usually consider the structure, would like, to be a little
more polite and formal. For our readers and listeners, what are your questions about American
English? We want to hear from you. Send us an email at learningenglishatvoanews.com. Please let
us know where you are from, too. And that's Ask a Teacher. I'm John Russell.