with me, Feifei…

..and me, Roy.

In this programme, we have an

expression which

describes when someone has read the message

you've sent them, but hasn't replied.

That reminds me, Roy - did you get my

message yesterday?

Oh… yes, I did. I read it and then

totally forgot to answer you. Was it

something important?

I can't believe it! You completely ignored

my message. I got left on read!

What's the colour 'red' got to do with

the fact I forgot to reply? Red is actually

my favourite colour.

Not red the colour, but 'read' as in the

past of 'read'.

Ahhh, got you. Sorry, I didn't mean to leave

you on read. It's just I was in the middle

of something … and then I got distracted

….and then…

OK. Roy. I understand! What was so important

that you couldn't reply?

I was eating a really nice banana, and

then I just forgot… sorry.

That's a terrible excuse – it's

a good thing we're friends or I might think

you were ignoring me. Anyway, let's listen

to these examples…

I can't believe I was left on read. I sent

him a message and I can see he's looked

at it, but he hasn't replied!

My partner always leaves me on read. They get

really distracted and then don't message

me back.

You shouldn't assume the worst if you get

left on read. If someone reads your message

and doesn't reply, they might be really

busy and planning to respond later.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning

English and we're talking about the expression

'left on read'. We use this when someone

has read a message, but hasn't replied.

So, were you really eating a banana and that's

why you left me on read?

Yeah, sorry. Well, I was also playing video

games which might have been the main reason.

Haha – I knew it! Well the next time I want

to offer you free tickets to the 'Rob's

Rolling Biscuit' rock concert, hopefully

you'll reply and not just leave me on read!

What!?! Free tickets?! Let me read the message

again! Can I still have the tickets?

Sorry, it's too late now. I gave them to

Neil. He didn't leave me on read. Bye, Roy.

Bye.