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  4. A message to say you're late

A message to say you're late

A young woman texts on her phone

Learn how to write text messages to tell a friend you're going to be late.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.

Preparation

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Reading text

Aziz

online

I'm running 10 mins late, sorry!

15:57

No problem!

15:58

Aargh! Traffic is really bad. I'll be more than 10 mins late now, sorry again!!

16:07

It's OK, don't worry. I'm in the café already so it's fine

16:08

This is not my day! I'm here but can't find a place to park. I'm looking for a different car park. Not sure how long I'll be

16:09

OK, LMK when you find a place

16:11

I might get something to eat tho

16:11

Of course! I'll be as quick as I can

16:13

OK!

16:13

Found one! Be there in 10 mins

16:16

Well done! See you soon

16:16

Thx for waiting

16:17

Tips

1. You don't need to write complete sentences for text messages.

2. Use abbreviations like LMK (= let me know) or use emojis to save time writing.

3. You don't need to use full stops (.) at the end of messages.

4. Say how many minutes you think you'll need, e.g. I'm running 10 minutes late.

5. It’s good to say sorry and sorry again, but you don't need to say sorry in every message.

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Task 3

Exercise

Discussion

Are you usually on time or late? How many minutes is ‘late’ for you?

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Worksheet96.32 KB
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Language level

A1 Elementary
Average: 4.3 (64 votes)
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Submitted by Aung San Oo on Sat, 15/06/2019 - 17:46

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I always go to my office early to avoid traffic.

Submitted by Edicita on Sat, 15/06/2019 - 04:32

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Usually I'm late 10 mins but I'm trying to change that bad habit.

Submitted by farazhussain on Tue, 11/06/2019 - 14:12

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It depends on the occasion. If there is something important then I'll try to be there on time or sooner perhaps. Sometimes, things doesn't go smooth as we expected. So we have to be adaptable. I'll consider more than 15 mins as late.
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Submitted by Anna Teresa on Mon, 10/06/2019 - 13:43

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I always try to be on time. If it is important such as exam, interviews, I will arrange time myself to be there in time, better 10 to 15 mins earlier. The 'late' time is depends on which reason that one has. If he gets in trouble with car park and has to park far away from the place, it's OK not to consider he is late.

Submitted by abdalhameed on Fri, 07/06/2019 - 17:22

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I usually try to be on time, but unfortunately sometimes be late. for me >5 minute is late.

Submitted by Mya on Thu, 06/06/2019 - 16:01

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I am mostly early person and i hate getting somewhere late. So, i always try to go there on time.

Submitted by Thao Phan on Wed, 05/06/2019 - 07:55

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Recently, I have tried to be on time and I usually get the places 1-5 mins sooner. However, that is late for me. I want to reach there more than 5 mins before meetings start. Sometimes, I become late and it's really bad feeling. Because time of each is valuable so work on time is very important I think.

Submitted by Ali Husin on Mon, 03/06/2019 - 12:28

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I am not getting late to learn english here, right?

Submitted by moaaxali on Tue, 28/05/2019 - 02:22

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It depends... I usually try to reach before the committed time but in some cases very often, I fail to do so. I consider 5 minutes as normal but more than 5 minutes is 'late' for me.
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Submitted by shahramuteng on Sun, 26/05/2019 - 22:17

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I'll try to be on time. when I set a time for a meeting or visiting, try to get there 5 or 10 mins sooner. and usually, I will be angry when another person late.