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Business English Follow-Up Phrases: Email & Meetings (Quiz Inside)
- Erin West
- Jul 11
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 11
Welcome to the Business English Phrases Quiz!
Staying in touch with your team and clients is an important part of any job. You need to plan meetings, give updates, or ask for feedback. In this article, you’ll learn five common Business English phrases to make your communication easier and more natural.
Let’s get started.
Today’s Challenge
Your team meeting starts in 2 hours. The CFO found a problem in the budget. Sam has some of the numbers. You need to talk quickly and fix it. What’s the best phrase to suggest a brief check-in about the budget?
Hi Sam, can we ______ today to review the budget?
A) break the ice
B) hit the roof
C) drop the ball
D) touch base
Pick the best answer and see how well you know Business English idioms!
Explore the definitions and examples below to see how these idioms work in real conversations.
What does "break the ice" mean?
BREAK THE ICE
idiom
to start a conversation in a friendly way and make people feel more comfortable
We played a fun game at the start of the meeting to break the ice.
Telling a joke is a good way to break the ice with new colleagues.
She asked about my weekend to break the ice before the interview.
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What does "hit the roof" mean?
HIT THE ROOF
idiom, informal
to get very angry
My boss hit the roof when he saw the mistakes in the report.
Dad hit the roof when I told him I crashed the car.
She’ll hit the roof if we miss this deadline again.
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What does "drop the ball" mean?
DROP THE BALL
idiom
to make a mistake or fail to do something important
I really dropped the ball on this project — I forgot to email the client.
We can’t afford to drop the ball during this busy season.
They dropped the ball by not checking the final details.
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What does "touch base" mean?
TOUCH BASE
idiom, informal
to talk or meet quickly to update each other
Let’s touch base next week to discuss the new plan.
I just wanted to touch base and see how you’re doing.
Can we touch base tomorrow about the presentation?
That's right! The correct answer is D) touch base.
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Learn More Business English Phrases for Staying Connected
These are just a few of the useful expressions you can use to keep in touch and sound more natural at work. Want to discover even more helpful phrases? Try the next quiz and test yourself — you might be surprised how much you already know!
Please follow the steps below.
Choose the correct option to complete each sentence, then listen to the correct answer.
1.
Feel free to _____ if you have any questions.
A) break out
B) reach out
C) step out
D) freak out
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is B) reach out
What does "reach out" mean?
REACH OUT
phrasal verb, neutral
to contact someone (by email, phone, message, etc.)
Thanks for reaching out — I’ll get back to you soon.
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2.
Thanks for giving me _____ about the new deadline.
A) a backup
B) a check-up
C) a pick-up
D) a heads-up
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is D) a heads-up.
GIVE someone A HEADS-UP
phrase, informal–neutral
to tell someone important information in advance
I wanted to give you a heads-up about the changes.
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3.
I'm gonna _____ on a quick call to clarify a few things.
A) jump
B) run
C) skip
D) jog
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is A) jump.
What does "jump on a call" mean?
JUMP/ HOP ON A QUICK CALL
phrase, informal–neutral
to have a short, fast call to discuss something
Can we hop on a quick call to go over this?
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4.
Can I _____ something by you? I need to know what you think.
A) fly
B) drive
C) walk
D) run
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is D) run.
What does "run something by someone" mean?
RUN something BY someone
phrasal verb, neutral
to show or tell someone an idea to get their opinion or approval
Can I run this proposal by you before the meeting?
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5.
Just keep me _____ if anything changes, okay?
A) update
B) posting
C) in the loop
D) informedly
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is C) in the loop.
What does "keep me in the loop" mean?
KEEP someone IN THE LOOP
idiom, informal–neutral
to tell someone what’s happening so they know
Make sure to keep Alex in the loop about the new timeline.
Looking for more practice? Try Six Simple Phrases for Staying Updated — free PDF included.
6.
Can you _____ with the client this afternoon to confirm the delivery date? I don’t want any surprises tomorrow.
A) break down
B) follow up
C) reach out
D) put up
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is B) follow up.
What does "follow up (with)" mean?
FOLLOW UP (WITH someone, ON something)
phrasal verb, neutral
to contact someone again about something
I wanted to follow up on my job application from last week.
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7.
Hi Candice, just _____ to see if you had a chance to review the proposal—I’d love your feedback before we lock the budget next week.
A) touching down
B) backing off
C) coming across
D) checking in
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is D) checking in.
What does "checking in" mean?
CHECK IN
phrasal verb, informal–neutral
to quickly contact someone to ask for an update or to give one
I’ll check in with the team to make sure the report is finished.
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8.
Hi Jenna—let me check the numbers and I’ll _____ you this afternoon with a quick summary.
A) get back to
B) come up with
C) keep up with
D) give up to
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is A) get back to.
What does "get back to you" mean?
GET BACK TO someone
phrasal verb, neutral
to reply or respond later, often after finding more information
I’ll get back to you once I confirm with the team.
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9.
We’re waiting on the vendor’s ETA. Keep me _____ on the shipment—if it’s delayed, we’ll need a backup plan.
A) into
B) informing
C) posted
D) update
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is C) posted.
What does "keep me posted" mean?
KEEP ME POSTED
phrase, informal–neutral
to keep someone updated about changes or news
Keep us posted on your progress so we can adjust our plans.
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10.
If you have questions, just _____ me a message.
A) notify
B) note
C) submit
D) shoot
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is D) shoot.
What does "shoot me a message" mean?
SHOOT ME A(N) MESSAGE/ EMAIL
phrase, informal
to send someone an email or message
Shoot me an email once you hear from HR.
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11.
I think we’re set for now. Give me a _____ if anything urgent comes up.
A) shout
B) receipt
C) voice
D) noise
CHECK HERE
That's right! The correct answer is A) shout.
What does "give me a shout" mean?
GIVE someone A SHOUT
phrase, informal, spoken
to let someone know, to contact them
Give me a shout when you’re free to talk.
Real-life office talk: coordinating a presentation
Listen to the dialogue between two colleagues and follow the script. Pay special attention to the follow-up phrases the speakers use.
Ava: | Hey Leo, got a sec to talk about Friday’s presentation? |
Leo: | Yeah, sure — what’s up? |
Ava: | Just a heads-up — the client wants us to start about 15 minutes earlier. |
Leo: | Oh, okay. No problem. Do we have the final slides from Design yet? |
Ava: | Not yet. They said they’re almost done but need a bit more time with the images. |
Leo: | Got it. Do you want me to give them a quick call and check on the timing? |
Ava: | That’d be great. If they can send the slides by 2 p.m., we’ll be all set. |
Leo: | Alright, I’ll call them and get back to you. |
Ava: | Thanks! And if they’re running late, we’ll just cut one example to save time. |
Leo: | Sounds good. Do you want me to let the team know about the earlier start? |
Ava: | Not yet — let’s wait until we hear back from Design. |
Leo: | Sure thing. I’ll reach out to them now. |
Ava: | Perfect. Just keep me posted if anything changes. |
Leo: | Will do. Anything else you need for Friday? |
Ava: | Yeah, one more thing — could you print three copies of the handout? |
Leo: | Sure, I’ll take care of that once I hear back from Design. |
Ava: | Awesome, thanks so much, Leo. |
Leo: | No worries — I’ll message you in a bit. |
Ready for more practice? Click the image below to try another Business English Idioms Quiz!
FAQ: Follow-Up Phrases (Email & Meetings)
Is “touch base” formal or informal?
Neutral–informal. Fine for most workplace emails and meetings; avoid in very formal documents.
“Reach out” vs. “contact” — which should I use?
Reach out is friendlier; contact is more formal/neutral. Both are correct.
Do I say “reach out to someone” or “reach out with someone”?
Use to a person: reach out to Alex. (with is wrong here.)
“Follow up with” vs. “follow up on”?
With a person; on a topic. Follow up with the client on the invoice.
“Check in with” vs. “check in on”?
With a person; on a task/status. Check in with Sam on the draft.
Is “get back to you” a phrasal verb?
Yes (multi-word verb). Always include to: get back to you this afternoon.
“Keep me posted” vs. “keep me in the loop” vs. “keep me updated”?
Same idea (give updates). Posted and in the loop are a bit more conversational; updated is slightly more formal.
Is “shoot me a message” okay with clients?
Casual. Safer with coworkers. For clients, use send me a message or feel free to reach out.
Can I use these phrases in subject lines?
Yes. Examples: Quick follow-up on timeline, Touching base about tomorrow, Checking in on the draft.
This article is brought to you by RealBusinessEnglish.com, where learning Business English is practical, professional, and just the right amount of fun.
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