Everyday English · Read, listen and speak
Receiving a Delivery
Help a courier find an entrance, check a delivery detail and make a clear handover arrangement.
Your speaking goal
Clarify an entrance and agree where you will meet a courier to receive a parcel.
Before you start: Use an imaginary building name and flat number. Do not share real addresses in practice.
Your six-step practice plan
- Understand: Read the goal and check the useful phrases.
- Listen or read: Follow both roles. Audio is optional.
- Repeat: Say one short line at a time, then join the words smoothly.
- Change details: Replace two details with imaginary ones.
- Role-play: Read the other person’s question, cover your reply and answer aloud. Then swap roles.
- Review: Use the “I can” checks below. Repeat any part that still needs help.
Work at your own pace. A clear message matters more than copying a particular accent.
Listen, read and notice
Roles: Courier and Recipient
Browser-generated English voice; availability and sound vary by device. Use the written dialogue if audio is unavailable.
Courier: Hello. I have a parcel for Maya Reed. I’m outside Cedar Court.
Recipient: Hello, that’s me. Are you at the main entrance?
Courier: I’m by a blue door beside the car park.
Recipient: That’s the side entrance. The main entrance is on the other side of the building.
Courier: Is it the entrance opposite the small garden?
Recipient: Yes, that’s right. I’ll meet you there in two minutes.
Courier: Thank you. Could you confirm the flat number?
Recipient: Flat fourteen. One-four.
Courier: Fourteen. Thank you. I’ll wait at the main entrance.
Recipient: Great. See you in a moment.
Useful phrases and what they do
- I have a parcel for ___. — Identify the intended recipient.
- Are you at the ___ entrance? — Check where someone is waiting.
- I’ll meet you there in ___. — Say where and how soon you will meet.
- Could you confirm ___? — Ask someone to check a detail.
Say it clearly
Practise “fourTEEN / one-four”. Make the number clear, and use separate digits when checking it. “In two minutes” means two minutes from now, not a clock time.
Build your own replies
Are you at ___? → No, I’m by ___. / Yes, I’ll wait here.
Ask and check
Did you say flat fourteen? → Yes, one-four.
Common mistakes and alternatives
Use “in two minutes” for how soon you will arrive. “For two minutes” describes a duration. “Parcel” and “package” are both natural for something delivered. The building and personal details here are fictional.
Check what you understood
Answer aloud before revealing each explanation. Natural replies with the same meaning also count.
Question 1
Where is the courier at the start?
Show answer 1 and explanation
By the blue door beside the car park, at the side entrance. The recipient arranges to meet at the main entrance instead.
Question 2
Does “in two minutes” mean the recipient will stay for two minutes?
Show answer 2 and explanation
No. It says how soon the recipient expects to arrive. “For two minutes” would describe how long someone stays or waits.
Question 3
What digits does the recipient give for the flat number?
Show answer 3 and explanation
One-four, meaning fourteen. Saying the digits helps distinguish it from forty.
Your turn: make it a real exchange
Practise alone: read the other person’s line, cover your reply and answer aloud. Then swap roles. No partner is needed.
Role A
Check which entrance the courier is using, arrange a meeting point and confirm an invented flat number.
Role B
Describe where you are, check the entrance and repeat the flat number.
Make it easier: Keep the model visible and change one detail at a time.
Add a challenge: You need five minutes to reach the entrance. Ask whether the courier can wait and agree on what to do next.
Ready to move on?
Try again with less reading. Use these checks and repeat any part that needs more practice.
- I can clarify a delivery entrance.
- I can confirm a number using digits.
- I can agree where and when to meet.