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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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Language level

A1 Elementary
Average: 4.1 (115 votes)
Profile picture for user Rafaela1

Submitted by Rafaela1 on Tue, 15/09/2020 - 13:12

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A flow activity disrupts me being a punctual person. What about you guys?? ;)

Submitted by SergeySSSS on Tue, 15/09/2020 - 06:58

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I respect punctual person, it's a good quality. And also I know people who often be late. I think it's their life point. And that tells us that a man not seriously.

Submitted by saleeh3 on Mon, 14/09/2020 - 13:47

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sometimes I late some mins but always I arrived on time
Profile picture for user Mya Nandar Aung

Submitted by Mya Nandar Aung on Mon, 14/09/2020 - 09:21

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Normally I'm on time. If I'm late, it will be around 15 mins.

Submitted by yeisy12 on Fri, 11/09/2020 - 16:56

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Sometimes I'm late for 10 mins, but I always arrive on time.

Submitted by Tun Aung Kyu on Wed, 09/09/2020 - 04:58

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Sometimes I late for about 10 mins. Mostly the reason I late beacuse of bad traffic.
Profile picture for user anguiluciana

Submitted by anguiluciana on Wed, 02/09/2020 - 16:48

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I'm usually on time to everywhere. For me late is more than 10 minutes.

Submitted by Hayatsalem on Mon, 31/08/2020 - 07:24

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Arriving on time is very important and says a lot about the person I'm meeting, Of course, sometimes we cannot control certain situations like traffic or last minutes changes, but overall punctuality is a skill that should be mastered.
Profile picture for user Ashiq Sourov

Submitted by Ashiq Sourov on Wed, 26/08/2020 - 07:52

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I usually try to be on time. I do not like to be late in any circumstances. But sometimes I can not meet the schedule due to bad traffic.

Submitted by Haidar Maula on Sun, 23/08/2020 - 07:29

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I usually on time most of the time, sometime even a couple minutes early. For me 10 minutes or more is consider late. Sometimes, unpredictaple things like traffic jam and some unfinished business that i need to finish first make me late when i had a sudden appointment. But I'll try to be as on time as i can when i have an appointment, so people don't have to wait for me.