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A2 · Restaurant Reservations and Seating

Holding a Table Because of a Delay

CEFR level:
A2
Sentences:
10
Duration:
1 min
Speakers:
Tom & Emma

"Holding a Table Because of a Delay" is an A2-level English conversation about restaurant reservations and seating, 10 lines long (about 1 minute) between Tom & Emma. Read the full script below with the translation next to each line, then try speaking one of the roles out loud.

Dialogue script

Each entry shows the English sentence first, with the translation on the line below it. To practise speaking, cover the translation and repeat after the audio.

  1. Tom 0:00

    Hi, I have a table booked for seven tonight.

    Line 1
  2. Emma 0:03

    What name is the reservation under?

    Line 2
  3. Tom 0:05

    Tom Hill. I'm running about twenty minutes late.

    Line 3
  4. Emma 0:09

    We normally hold tables for fifteen minutes.

    Line 4
  5. Tom 0:12

    I'm sorry. My bus broke down on the way.

    Line 5
  6. Emma 0:15

    I understand. Are the other guests already here?

    Line 6
  7. Tom 0:19

    Yes, two of them are waiting outside.

    Line 7
  8. Emma 0:22

    Then they can check in, and we'll keep the table.

    Line 8
  9. Tom 0:25

    Thank you. I'll ask them to go inside now.

    Line 9
  10. Emma 0:28

    No problem. We'll seat them while they wait for you.

    Line 10

Native audio, line-by-line recording and pronunciation scoring for this dialogue are in the EngTalk app.

Key vocabulary

Content words from this dialogue, ranked by the CEFR level at which they appear across the whole 500-dialogue library. Function words and proper nouns are excluded.

  • booked /bʊkt/ adjective

    reserved in advance; fully scheduled

  • late /leɪt/ adjective

    after the expected or usual time

  • normally /ˈnɔrməli/ adverb

    usually; in the usual way.

  • hold /hoʊld/ verb

    to keep something in your hand or position

  • broke /broʊk/ adjective

    having completely run out of money; also past tense of break

  • way /weɪ/ noun

    a method, route, or manner of doing something

  • guests /ɡɛsts/ noun

    people invited to visit or stay

  • already /ɔlˈrɛdi/ adverb

    before now or before a specific time in the past

  • waiting /ˈweɪtɪŋ/ verb

    present participle of wait

  • keep /kip/ verb

    to continue to have, hold, or do something

  • ask /æsk/ verb

    to pose a question or request information

  • problem /ˈprɑbləm/ noun

    something difficult that needs to be solved

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