Verbs with ‘back’- Roleplays Speaking Practice

Verbs with ‘back’- Roleplays Speaking Practice

Part One: Using verbs with back roleplays
Choose one sentence below and explain a situation where you could say that, including
who the two people could be. The two people could be communicating by telephone, by
email or face to face, depending on which line. Roleplay that situation with your partner,
making sure that you use the line below. The person who picked the line is the one who
must use it, e.g. the caller for number 1 below. Roleplay the whole exchange each time. If
it’s an email exchange, don’t write, just say what you would write, but roleplay the whole
exchange of at least two emails until it comes to a natural end.

1.

“Can you ask him to call me back?” (= return my call)

2.

“I’d like you to give my money back.” (= refund my money)

3.

“Please come back if you have any other problems.” (= visit this shop again)

4.

“I’ll find out and get back to you as soon as I can.” (= contact you)

5.

“Can I phone you back later?” (= “Return your call later”)

6.

“Thanks for calling me back.” (= returning my call)

7.

“Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.” (= contacting me)

8.

“I’ll pass your message to him as soon as he gets back.” (= returns from the place
where he has gone)

9.

“Do you know when he will be back?” (= come back)

10.

“He will be back around twelve.” (= return to this place)

11.

“Can I check that back?” (= “Can I read that back?” = say back to you what you just
said to me to confirm that I understood)

12.

“Thanks for writing back so quickly.” (= replying to my email)

13.

“Please don’t hang up, I’ll be right back.” (= come back to the phone)

14.

“When are you flying back?” (= taking a plane back where you came from)

15.

“Well, I’d better go back to my hotel and get changed for this evening.” (= return to my
hotel)

16.

“Can you take this back to the kitchen?” (= go back to the kitchen with this)

17.

“I tried taking it back to the shop, but they said they couldn’t help me.” (= went back to
the shop with it)

18.

“If you send it back to us, we will fix it and get it back to you as soon as possible.” (=
return it by post)

19.

“Welcome back” (= It’s nice that you could come back again)

20.

“It’s so nice to be back” (= It’s nice to be here again)

21.

“I’ll be back (soon/…)” (= I will return)

Ask about any language you can’t understand or situations you can’t imagine above.

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020

p. 1

Part Two: Verbs with back presentation

Fill the gaps below with one verb. Sometimes there might be more than one possibility, but
just write one. The same verb can often be used in more than one place below.

1.

“Can you ask him to _____________________________ me back?” (= return my
call)

2.

“I’d like you to _________________________ my money back.” (= refund my
money)

3.

“Please _____________ back if you have any other problems.” (= visit this shop
again)

4.

“I’ll find out and ___________________ back to you as soon as I can.” (= contact
you)

5.

“Can I _________________________ you back later?” (= “Return your call later”)

6.

“Thanks for ________________________________ing me back.” (= returning my
call)

7.

“Thanks for _______________________ing back to me so quickly.” (= contacting
me)

8.

“I’ll pass your message to him as soon as he __________________________s back.”
(= returns from the place he has gone)

9.

“Do you know when he will _____________________________ back?” (= come back)

10.

“He will ___________________________ back around twelve.” (= return to this place)

11.

“Can I _________________________________ that back?” (= “Can I read that
back?” = say back to you what you just said to me to confirm that I understood)

12.

“Thanks for _______________________ing back so quickly.” (= replying to my email)

13.

“Please don’t hang up, I’ll ________________ right back.” (= come back to the phone)

14.

“When are you ___________ing back?” (= taking a plane back where you came from)

15.

“Well, I’d better __________________________________ back to my hotel and get
changed for this evening.” (= return to my hotel)

16.

“Can you ___________ this back to the kitchen?” (= go back to the kitchen with this)

17.

“I tried ____________________________________________ing it back to the shop,
but they said they couldn’t help me.” (= went back to the shop with it)

18.

“If you ___________________________________________ it back to us, we will fix it
and get it back to you as soon as possible.” (= return it by post)

22.

“____________________________ back” (= It’s nice that you could come back again)

23.

“It ___________________________ so nice to be back” (= It’s nice to be here again)

24.

“I’ll _________________________________________ back (soon/…)” (= I will return)

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020

p. 2

Mixed answers

Use the words below to help with the task above. Some verbs are used more than once.

 be
 call
 check
 come
 fly
 get
 give
 go
 is
 phone
 send
 take
 welcome
 write

Check with the first page. Other answers might be possible, so check with your teacher.

Part Three: Verbs with back situation roleplays

Without looking above if possible, roleplay situations from below, each time doing the
whole conversation.

 A phone call after you leave a message for someone
 A phone call when the person you speak to doesn’t have the information you need
 A phone call when the person you want to speak to isn’t there
 A phone call when you have to ask someone to wait
 A phone call when you have to leave a message
 A problem with something that you have bought
 A problem with your food in a restaurant
 An email exchange
 Chatting with a visitor from abroad
 Meeting someone at your office
 Meeting someone at someone else’s office
 Greeting guests at your house party
 Ending a face to face conversation

Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020

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