Making Appointments and Plans

Making Appointments and Plans

M aking Plans with a Friend

Making a Professional Appointment

Asking about Availability

There are many reasons that we need to make appointments. Some of the most common appointments are visiting the doctor or the dentist, scheduling time for a haircut or manicure, and arranging a time for a service in your home, such as installing cable TV and internet. We may also need to schedule a meeting with a coworker, a manager, or a professor from university, or make plans to spend time with friends.

Making appointments is much easier when you are talking to the person directly and can look at a calendar to decide on a good time to meet. However, we usually schedule
appointments on the phone and this type of conversation can be stressful when you are still learning English. We often use special expressions to make plans and schedule appointments, so you need to be able to understand what people are saying to you.
This vocabulary worksheet will help you understand and use the questions we often use to make appointments. You will also be able to respond positively and negatively to requests to make plans and suggest alternative meeting times.
State Your Request
When making appointments, we often begin the conversation by indicating what kind of plans we would like to make.

Making Plans with a Friend

Let’s go to the movies this weekend.
Let’s hang out this weekend.
I need some help with my homework.
I’d like to try that new Italian restaurant.

Making a Professional Appointment

I’d like to make an appointment to see Dr. Smith.
I’d like to meet about the report I’ve been working on.
I would like to meet with you about my essay.

Asking about Availability

After introducing your reason for meeting, you need to ask about the other person’s availability. There are many ways to do this. You want to choose the right language based on the person you are talking to you and how formal your request needs to be. You will be more relaxed with a friend than with the receptionist at the doctor’s office!
More Informal