Is "Who Are You Calling?" Grammatically Correct? Let's Discuss!

Hi Poonam,

I have been frequently listening to this "Who are you calling?" Is it right in terms of grammar?

Thank you.

Hello Poonam,

Greetings!

This is for your information/clarification that this is not the right place to post such types of questions.

Thanks & Regards,
S. Narendra Nath

Hi Friend,

According to my knowledge, instead of "who are you calling?", we can say, "who is calling?"

Hi Poonam,

Thank you for your message. In terms of grammar, there are a couple of issues in your sentence. Here is the corrected version: "Thanks, friends. I think so, but the main concern is what is wrong in terms of grammar in this sentence, although it sounds awkward. I understand someone will certainly figure out the confusion. I hope to see the right and grammatically correct answer."

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.

Best regards

Dear Poonam,

The question that you had posted has only one meaning. This question is asked by the person making the call to check with whom he/she is calling to speak with. It is not supposed to be asked by the receiver to the caller who is calling.

Hi Mukesh,

The body of the question is: "Who are you calling?" I understand that the first phase "Who are you" is complete in itself, and by adding "calling" in the same sentence, it sounds a little bit odd to me. That's why I have posted this here.

I do not think this is the correct sentence. As far as I know, it should be "May I know who is calling?" or "Who is calling?" or "Who is speaking?"

I hope this helps you.

Selva Bangalore 9663571886

We can use "May I know who is calling?" or "May I know who is on the line?"

Regards,
Yogesh S.

Hi Selva,

I truly agree with you, but I am a witness to hearing this from the people around me. As I explained, this sentence always sounds awkward to me, and I was wondering whether it is correct. Unfortunately, none of the geniuses has come forward to clear up this silly question.

Thank you.

"Who are you calling" gives two meanings: 1. who are you (who want to call) & 2. who the hell are you calling. So it's better to change the way as "May I know who is online?" or "Yes, Vaibhav here" or "Vaibhav this side."

- Vaibhav

You can say, "Who is there?" or "Who is calling?" I understand that you want to show respect, which is why you are using "are" instead of "is." However, in the English language, respect is not indicated by the choice of verb form; this concept is more related to Hindi. In my opinion, Hindi is a more civilized language compared to English.

Dear Poonam,

Often, the use of English can lead to slight confusion or misunderstanding depending on how it is stated or used. "Who are you calling?" The question you are asking isn't grammatically incorrect at all; however, it depends on who is asking it.

Example:

Scenario 1: Gia is talking to someone over the phone at 11:30 pm. Her dad walks into the hall and sees her. The first thing he'll say is "Who are you talking to?" not "Who are you calling?"

Scenario 2: Gia answers the phone, and the person on the other end asks to speak with her father. The first question Gia asks is "May I know who is speaking?" not "Who are you calling?"

Scenario 3: Gia and her friend get into trouble for rash driving. They are taken to a police station for interrogation. They are allowed one call. Gia asks her friend, "Who are you calling?"

I hope I was able to answer your question.

Regards

Dear Gillian, Thank you for explaining with scenarios. Had Poonam given the scenario which prompted her to pose the question, it would have saved a lot of discussion. May I take this opportunity to appeal to members to pose questions giving enough information for people, instead of expecting bloggers to guess the situation.

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK.

Hi Poonam,

This is Vidhya. What I suggest is, instead of asking "who are you speaking to," you can ask something like "to whom am I speaking with?" or "who is this?" or "may I know your good name, please?".

Best regards,
Vidhya.

Hi Poonam,

I would like to tell you that the correct sentence "Who is speaking" is the correct one rather than "Who are calling?"

Thanks for answering the question in such a nice way. I agree with your suggestion. Since "who are you calling" is not grammatically incorrect, it is like any other interrogative sentence such as "what are you doing?" It purely depends on the person's tone. In one case, it might sound demanding, and in another, it might seem polite, as shown in the examples you provided.

Thanks,
Gaurav

P.S. Poonam, you have posted a good question on this forum, and you should not worry about critics; it helps to improve oneself. I noticed that most of the people who replied to your post were unable to provide reasoning behind what is wrong in using the sentence "who are you calling." Instead, they focused on suggesting another way of saying it or on spell checking "grammar."

Dear Poonam, as far as I understand your question, you are very sure that "Who are you calling?" is wrong, but you are seeking the grammatical reason behind it being wrong. If I am right, kindly read ahead. In the later part, I have given certain grammar rules which may be of use to you. However, in case you aren't looking for the grammatical reason, you may find it difficult to understand.

As per the grammatical rules:

Simple sentences = Subject + (Helping verb + Main Verb) + Object

Question 1. (“Yes/No” questions) = Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object

Question 2. (“wh” questions) = “wh word (who, when, what, etc)” + Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object.

(In the second case, certain entities can be omitted as per the context)

1. Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object
- Do you read books?
- Have you read this book?

2. “wh word (who, when, etc)” + Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object.
- a. Who are you? (No main Verb, No object)
- b. Who is playing? (No Subject, No object)
- c. Who is playing cricket? (No Subject)
- d. What are you doing? (No object)
- e. When are you going there? (all entities)

One needs to understand when and in what context which element has to be omitted and when the formula is to be used as it is.

Taking help of Hindi language:

“Who” questions can be of two types:

1. Where a verb is being done (koi kaam ho raha hai) as in examples 2.b and c.
2. Where an existence is questioned (kisi cheez ka hona “tha, thi, hai, hain, hoga, honge”) as in example 2.a.

Now, whenever an existence is questioned, the subject is a must whose existence is questioned (“you” in example a), but no verb is done (no main verb) and hence the object is not required.

- Who is calling = kaun call kar raha hai?
- Who are you = aap kaun ho?
- Who are you who is calling = aap kaun ho jo call kar rahe ho?

Note that “jo call kar rahe ho” is irrelevant; “aap kaun ho” is sufficient.

So the key is the formulae mentioned above. Remember that a few of the elements can be omitted as per the context, but the order can't be changed, and nothing other than prepositions, articles, etc., can be added.

Taking your example “Who are you calling”:

- Who are you = existence question
- Who is calling = verb (calling) is being done, so the respective formula is to be used.

Both can't be combined unless a conjunction is used to make it a compound sentence made of two or more simple sentences.

I am sure you must have found it difficult to understand and boring as well. But, this doubt comes under the topic “structuring of sentences,” which is a very basic but very important concept. Generally, speakers know the correct order simply by being in an English-speaking environment, but those who are completely unaware need to be taught this. That doesn't, in any way, mean that you are one of those. What I mean is that it's one of the very basics, and because we don't come across grammatical rules, we may face exceptions and may not understand the correct use because of general and popular use of certain words...

Hope it solved your query...

If it did, you can get in touch for any other guidance. Else, I apologize.

Good day!!

Regards, Shipra

Hi Poonam,

This is in order format. Let us try "May I know who is calling? / May I know who is on the line?"

I think this is a polite wording.

MANOKAVIN

It appears smart as Selva from Bangalore says: "May I know who is calling?" or "May I know who is on the line?"

Hey,

I think you are referring to someone asking you "who are you calling". For example, maybe your mom wants to find out who you are calling? If the above context is right, it should be "Whom are you calling."

Cheers, NP

Hi HR brethren, if I am not wrong, both the sentences "Who are you calling?" and "Who is calling?" are correct. There is no grammatical mistake in either sentence. The difference is that "Who are you calling?" is a respectful way of asking, and "Who is calling?" is not.

If you have any other views, just fling them.

Regards,
Subramanian

Hi Poonam, I guess your sentence sounds too rude. Instead, you could use "May I know who is calling?" or "May I know who is on the line?" Even if the caller is a stranger or a first-time caller, your reception should sound polite.

Regards,
Kulwindar Singh
GSM: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
E-mail: [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Poonam,

First and foremost, "Grammar" has been misspelled; it does not have an "E."

Now, coming to your query, the response will have to be addressed depending on the situation.

1. Situation One:
On receiving a call, you ask the caller, "Who are you calling?" This is incorrect. The correct response would be, "May I know who is calling?"

2. Situation Two:
You receive a call, and the caller asks, "Who are you calling?" This is totally incorrect. Here again, the most appropriate dialogue would be, "May I know who is speaking?"

3. Situation Three:
The receiver finds the voice and number unfamiliar. In this situation, the receiver may ask, "Who are you calling?" This would not be incorrect. However, the most appropriate response would be, "May I know who you would like to speak to?"

Trust I have answered your query to your satisfaction.

Cheers!!!
Vasant Nair

Dear Ponnam, According to my opinion, this is not right, but we can say:

- May I know who I'm talking with?
- Who is on the line?
- Who is calling?
- Who is speaking?

Poonam, I am just giving an example on this topic: When we make or receive a call, it means we would like to talk to a third person. In this sense, we use "is." For example, if that person is in front of us, then we can say, "How are you?" Here, "are" is used for the second person. However, note that "are" itself is a third person.

Many times we use phrases like "How is she?" It means "is," "am," and "are" are for the third person. "Is" is used for the third person, "are" for the second person, and "am" for oneself.

Don't be confused; you can find these things easily in Oxford. I hope this explanation helps you.

Regards, Karamvir
HR Officer
Bawal, Haryana
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Poonam,
Whether you're at home or in the workplace, there's a nice way to find out who's on the other end. “May I ask who's calling” sounds much nicer than “who's this? or who r u calling”

Dear Mr. Krishna Pandey,

I'll take it as a compliment. Thank you. I sincerely hope that you didn't talk about me when you said that one shouldn't demotivate a reader. I apologize if I sounded rude or demotivating or if, in any way, I made anyone hesitant.

Regards,
Shipra

I am English.

The correct response is:

"May I ask who is calling, please?" (if you wish to know the name of the caller)
or
"Who would you like to speak to?" (if you wish to know who the caller would like to be connected to).

I hope this clears things up.

Grammatically, 'who' is used when you are denoting the subject/doer of the action. For example, Who is shouting? Who is crying? Who is talking, etc. 'Whom' is used in the nominative/object form of the verb. For example, Whom are you talking with? Whom are you staring at? Whom are you calling tonight? The doer of the action in this case is 'YOU.'

Hence, (if I have understood the context correctly), the sentence 'Who are you calling?' is incorrect. It should be 'Whom are you calling?'

Grammar is one thing, and mannerism and courtesy are another. Whatever you say or write may be grammatically correct, but it may still be offending or may sound improper. "'May I know who is speaking, please?' may be the right choice."

Dear Shipra,

Welcome!

No, I did not understand anything wrong in your case. But in life, everyone makes mistakes, and we learn from those mistakes. As HR professionals, we should not demotivate our own professional colleagues.

Thanks,
Krishna Kumar Pandey
<a href="mailto:hr.k.k.pandey@gmail.com">

PROPER GRAMMAR
Dear Friends, as the majority of you have voted, the correct sentence should be "Who is calling" instead of "Who are you calling." As I have already clarified in the first post, I don't use this phrase, but I have been hearing it from many people when they receive a call and respond with: "Who are you calling!" Although it has been very nicely explained by many of the senior members that this sentence is not grammatically incorrect, you will agree with me that it sounds awkward. I reiterate; to the members who have criticized the spelling errors, I wonder why they didn't understand that these may be typographical errors, not otherwise.

Hope I am right.

Regards,
Poonam

Hi Poonam,

I think the question is addressed to the person who is making the call and not to the person at the other end. If I have understood it correctly, then I would frame the question as "Whom are you calling?" instead of "Who are you calling?"

Hi Poonam,

In fact, the way it is used reflects an offensive way of interaction. The appropriate and grammatically correct way is:
"May I know who I am talking to?"

Regards,
Pankaj

I'd be pleased to clarify further on this if doubt still persists. More such doubts are also welcome...

Hi Aditi and Pankaj, thanks for the contribution. The question is addressed to the person who receives the call from the other end, and the response is, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING?" Don't you think 'whom' should not be applicable at all? However, I agree with many of the senior members who have very appropriately explained and answered this.

Regards,
Poonam