Asking people to Wait
Hang on a moment / a mo./Hold on
Give us a second.
Half a moment / a mo.
These Phrases are quite informal
but polite in tone. You are busy and expect to be able to help them
quite soon.
I'll be right with you.
This Phrase is especially useful
in customer service situations where you want to ask a customer to wait for a
few minutes.
Sorry, I'm a bit tied up right now.
This Phrase is really saying how
busy you are but at the same time you are asking people to wait. It is quite
polite.
Wait and see.
This Phrase is refusing to tell
somebody something about the near future. We often use it when we are preparing
a surprise for somebody.
You'll just have to be patient.
Give me a chance.
These Phrases are less polite and
are suggesting that you think the other person is being too impatient.
Don't be so impatient.
This Phrase is more impolite and
you are actually directly criticising the other person for being impatient.
We wish to apologise for the delay to...
This Phrase is a formal
announcement that you might hear on a train or plane in the UK. It is followed
by a noun phrase.