Hi Sundram,
Thank you for the greetings! Unfortunately, you did not address the real concern of the base question. Regarding my spelling errors, you are correct. We, as adults, should also pay a bit of attention, just like you did in pointing out errors in your email. For instance, in the first line, it should be "English" instead of "Engllish," and many young kids hardly pay attention instead of "pays." These things happen.
Anyway, thank you for the response.
Regards,
Poonam
From India, Delhi
1Thank you for the greetings! Unfortunately, you did not address the real concern of the base question. Regarding my spelling errors, you are correct. We, as adults, should also pay a bit of attention, just like you did in pointing out errors in your email. For instance, in the first line, it should be "English" instead of "Engllish," and many young kids hardly pay attention instead of "pays." These things happen.
Anyway, thank you for the response.
Regards,
Poonam
From India, Delhi
"Who are you calling" gives two meanings: 1. who are you (who want to call) & 2. who the hell are you calling. So it's better to change the way as "May I know who is online?" or "Yes, Vaibhav here" or "Vaibhav this side."
- Vaibhav
From India, Mumbai
- Vaibhav
From India, Mumbai
You can say, "Who is there?" or "Who is calling?" I understand that you want to show respect, which is why you are using "are" instead of "is." However, in the English language, respect is not indicated by the choice of verb form; this concept is more related to Hindi. In my opinion, Hindi is a more civilized language compared to English.
From India, Chandigarh
From India, Chandigarh
Dear Poonam,
Often, the use of English can lead to slight confusion or misunderstanding depending on how it is stated or used. "Who are you calling?" The question you are asking isn't grammatically incorrect at all; however, it depends on who is asking it.
Example:
Scenario 1: Gia is talking to someone over the phone at 11:30 pm. Her dad walks into the hall and sees her. The first thing he'll say is "Who are you talking to?" not "Who are you calling?"
Scenario 2: Gia answers the phone, and the person on the other end asks to speak with her father. The first question Gia asks is "May I know who is speaking?" not "Who are you calling?"
Scenario 3: Gia and her friend get into trouble for rash driving. They are taken to a police station for interrogation. They are allowed one call. Gia asks her friend, "Who are you calling?"
I hope I was able to answer your question.
From India, Pune
Often, the use of English can lead to slight confusion or misunderstanding depending on how it is stated or used. "Who are you calling?" The question you are asking isn't grammatically incorrect at all; however, it depends on who is asking it.
Example:
Scenario 1: Gia is talking to someone over the phone at 11:30 pm. Her dad walks into the hall and sees her. The first thing he'll say is "Who are you talking to?" not "Who are you calling?"
Scenario 2: Gia answers the phone, and the person on the other end asks to speak with her father. The first question Gia asks is "May I know who is speaking?" not "Who are you calling?"
Scenario 3: Gia and her friend get into trouble for rash driving. They are taken to a police station for interrogation. They are allowed one call. Gia asks her friend, "Who are you calling?"
I hope I was able to answer your question.
From India, Pune
Dear Gillian,
Thank you for explaining with scenarios. Had Poonam given the scenario which prompted her to pose the question, it would have saved a lot of discussion. May I take this opportunity to appeal to members to pose questions giving enough information for people, instead of expecting bloggers to guess the situation.
Have a nice day.
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK.
From United Kingdom
Thank you for explaining with scenarios. Had Poonam given the scenario which prompted her to pose the question, it would have saved a lot of discussion. May I take this opportunity to appeal to members to pose questions giving enough information for people, instead of expecting bloggers to guess the situation.
Have a nice day.
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK.
From United Kingdom
Ok. The spelling of the word 'Grammar' is wrong. First, find out what is the correct spelling. You may start another post asking for the correct spelling of the word. I am sure there will be many respondents to this question who will provide the correct response. Once you know the correct spelling of the word "Grammar," you will be ready for step 2, which will be the lesson on syntax formation. Keep doing it, and soon you will earn a BA (Honours) in English just by reading this post.
From India, New Delhi
From India, New Delhi
Dear All,
Thank you for your valuable responses on this issue. I am indeed delighted to have received such good comments and clarifications from all of you. Let us now avoid making this any more controversial, for example, by pointing out spelling errors, etc.
Have a nice day ahead.
Poonam
From India, Delhi
Thank you for your valuable responses on this issue. I am indeed delighted to have received such good comments and clarifications from all of you. Let us now avoid making this any more controversial, for example, by pointing out spelling errors, etc.
Have a nice day ahead.
Poonam
From India, Delhi
Hi Poonam,
This is Vidhya. What I suggest is, instead of asking "who are you speaking to," you can ask something like "to whom am I speaking with?" or "who is this?" or "may I know your good name, please?".
Best regards,
Vidhya.
From India
This is Vidhya. What I suggest is, instead of asking "who are you speaking to," you can ask something like "to whom am I speaking with?" or "who is this?" or "may I know your good name, please?".
Best regards,
Vidhya.
From India
Hi Poonam I would like to tell you that the correct sentence "Who is speaking" is the correct one rather than "Who are calling?"
From United States, Lincolnshire
From United States, Lincolnshire
Hello Gillianbarber,
Thanks for answering the question in such a nice way. I agree with your suggestion. Since "who are you calling" is not grammatically incorrect, it is like any other interrogative sentence such as "what are you doing?". It purely depends on the person's tone. In one case, it might sound demanding, and in another, it might seem polite, as shown in the examples you provided.
Thanks, Gaurav
P.S. Poonam, you have posted a good question on this forum, and you should not worry about critics; it helps to improve oneself. I noticed that most of the people who replied to your post were unable to provide reasoning behind what is wrong in using the sentence "who are you calling." Instead, they focused on suggesting another way of saying it or on spell checking "grammar."
From India, Pune
Thanks for answering the question in such a nice way. I agree with your suggestion. Since "who are you calling" is not grammatically incorrect, it is like any other interrogative sentence such as "what are you doing?". It purely depends on the person's tone. In one case, it might sound demanding, and in another, it might seem polite, as shown in the examples you provided.
Thanks, Gaurav
P.S. Poonam, you have posted a good question on this forum, and you should not worry about critics; it helps to improve oneself. I noticed that most of the people who replied to your post were unable to provide reasoning behind what is wrong in using the sentence "who are you calling." Instead, they focused on suggesting another way of saying it or on spell checking "grammar."
From India, Pune
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