Of course, a direct question is usually an open invitation to respond:Sie langweilen sich, nicht?
You are bored, aren’t you?Ich komme aus Berlin, und Sie?
I am from Berlin, and you?Wann macht die Bank auf?
When does the bank open?120.4 Interrupting someone
Breaking into a conversation when the speaker is not prepared or is not expecting to be
interrupted needs to be done with some confidence. Amongst the more explicit
techniques there are the following:(a) Using the inseparable verb unterbrechen ‘to interrupt’, or the more informal
ein*haken:Darf ich Sie (mal) (kurz) unterbrechen?
Can I (just) interrupt you (briefly)?Darf ich einhaken?
Can I butt in?(b) Using a similar construction with another verb:Kann/Darf ich etwas sagen?
May I say something?Kann/Darf ich (Sie) etwas fragen?
Can I ask you something?Or, more impatiently:Darf ich jetzt mal etwas sagen?
Can I just say something now?All of the above tend to sound assertive and forthright when said with a falling
intonation: unter[\]brechen, [\]sagen, [\]fragen. A rising intonation makes these
interruptions seem more polite and tentative: unter[/]brechen, [/]sagen, [/]fragen.(c) Other ways of interrupting, which do not draw attention to themselves as
interruptions, include:Ja, [/]wissen Sie,...
Ah, you know...(Ja) dazu kann ich [/]sagen...
lit. To that I can say...With a strong stress on da-, this claims a close relevance to what has just been said,
and the rising intonation signals that the speaker wishes to continue:[/] Dazu kann ich sagen, dass...
I can tell you that...120
COMMUNICATION STATEGIES