HANG ON & HOLD ON
04 / 07 / 2011
HANG ON & HOLD ON: meaning and examples
Good morning. I hope everyone had a good weekend.
Today we start a review of expressions with the English word HOLD, by answering a question that we received from Rita. Here is Rita's question.
Hello! I would like to know what is the real difference between "hang on" and "hold on" when we are on the telephone. Thank you very much! Rita
Good question Rita. The answer is quite easy; these phrasal verbs are synonyms. They are virtually identical; there really is no difference between them.
Both of these expressions can be used in spoken English on the phone to mean to ask someone who is calling to wait until they can talk to the person they want.
Example 1:
Sandra (by phone): Is Jack there?
Lisa: Yes. Hang on / Hold on, I'll get him. Jack!
In normal face-to-face conversation, these expressions are used to tell someone to wait or stop.
Example 2:
Hold on / Hang on...this isn't the right road. Let's stop and turn around. We should be going in the other direction.
If you have any questions about today's Daily Vitamin, please post your comments by clicking on the "Add a Comment" button in the Daily Vitamin section on our website.
I hope you have a nice day.
Today we start a review of expressions with the English word HOLD, by answering a question that we received from Rita. Here is Rita's question.
Hello! I would like to know what is the real difference between "hang on" and "hold on" when we are on the telephone. Thank you very much! Rita
Good question Rita. The answer is quite easy; these phrasal verbs are synonyms. They are virtually identical; there really is no difference between them.
Both of these expressions can be used in spoken English on the phone to mean to ask someone who is calling to wait until they can talk to the person they want.
Example 1:
Sandra (by phone): Is Jack there?
Lisa: Yes. Hang on / Hold on, I'll get him. Jack!
In normal face-to-face conversation, these expressions are used to tell someone to wait or stop.
Example 2:
Hold on / Hang on...this isn't the right road. Let's stop and turn around. We should be going in the other direction.
If you have any questions about today's Daily Vitamin, please post your comments by clicking on the "Add a Comment" button in the Daily Vitamin section on our website.
I hope you have a nice day.
