Speaker 1: Sometimes you need to tell someone whether you're free or not.
And when I say free, I'm talking about time, not cost.
Maybe a coworker wants to set up a meeting, maybe
a friend wants to grab dinner. Maybe someone asks are
you available tomorrow. In situations like these, you don't need
to say yes or no. In every day English, we
have a few short, natural phrases that clearly show whether
we are available or not. And that's what this podcast
English Lesson is all about.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast Episode nine eighty eight,
talking about schedules and availability in English. Today we're going
to look at six very natural phrases. Three you can
use when you're available and three you can use when
you're not. Let's start with when you are available. The
first one is I'm free. We use i'm free in
casual situations to say that we don't have plans at
a certain time, like if a friend texts you and says,
are you doing anything Friday? Night, you might reply no,
I'm free, or if a coworker asks can you meet
at three, you could say, yeah, I'm free at three.
I'm free is simple, friendly, in a very common way
to say you're available in everyday English. Next is I'm
open or I'm wide open. I'm open is often used
in work situations or when talking about your schedule more generally.
For example, if someone asks when are you available next week,
you might say, well, I'm open on Tuesday afternoon. That
means your schedule is clear. Sometimes you'll hear i'm wide open,
which is a stronger version, like if someone says, are
you busy tomorrow? You could respond no, I'm wide open.
That means you have nothing scheduled at all. I'm open
sounds slightly more professional than I'm free, but both are
very natural. The third phrase is I'm available. I'm available
is a bit more formal and often used in professional
or service situations. For example, a consultant might say I'm
available for meetings between ten and two, or if your
manager asks can you help with this project next week,
you might say yes, I'm available. And if you try
to make an appointment with the doctor or the dentist,
the conversation may go like this, does doctor Gerber have
any openings tomorrow? Yes, he's available at three fifteen tomorrow.
I'm available sounds clear and professional and works very well
in professional situations in English. Now let's move into phrases
you can use when you're not available. First is I'm
tied up. We use i'm tied up when we are
busy at this time. It usually means we have something
scheduled and can't change it easily. For example, if someone says,
can you talk at one, you might respond I'm tied
up at one, but I'm free at two. Or if
a friend asks want to grab coffee this morning, you
could say I'm tied up this morning, maybe later. I'm
tied up sounds polite and temporary. It doesn't sound like
a big problem. Next, I'm booked or I'm booked up.
We use i'm booked when our schedule is full. For example,
if a client asks can we schedule something this week,
you might say I'm booked this week, but I have
time next Monday. You can also say I'm booked up,
which emphasizes that there is no space left. For example,
I'm completely booked up on Thursday. This phrase is very
common in work and appointment situations, and you'll often hear
the word book as a verb when scheduling, like I
booked a tennis lesson on Saturday, or one of my
students booked a set of lessons with me. Yeah, I
teach one to one English lessons too. Finally, we use
the phrase have something going on. We tend to use
I have something going on when we don't want to
or can't give details about why we're not available. It
sounds a little vague but still polite, sounding like if
someone asks can you come to dinner on Saturday, you
might say, oh, I can't. I have something going on
that night. Or at work, if someone suggests the last
minute meeting, you could say, I actually have something going
on at that time. This phrase is useful when you
want to say no without explaining everything. So let's put
these together. When you're available, you can say I'm free,
I'm open, or I'm wide open or i'm available. And
when you're not you can say, ah, sorry, I'm tied up,
or I'm booked or i'm booked up or I have
something going on. All of these phrases help you talk
about your schedule in a natural, polite way. And it's
also possible to combine these phrases like I'm tied up
in the morning, but I'm free in the afternoon, or
I'm all booked up this week, but I'm free at
the beginning of next week. Mixing them like this makes
your English sound even more natural. So try using these
phrases the next time someone asks about your schedule. That's
how you build real conversational fluency. And keep in mind
the best way to remember English like this and any
other word or phrase in English, is to take that
word or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true
for you or true in your world, and then memorize
your sentences. Hey, thanks for listening, and remember learning another
language is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm
here to help you on your journey.
Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please
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