We have all been in situations where we didn’t understand something that someone said and we needed to ask for clarification.
The type of clarifying questions you ask, though, will depend on who you are speaking to and how you are communicating with them. Asking politely for clarification in email is different from when you’re chatting with a close friend.
So, let’s take a look at different clarification questions and phrases you can use to avoid misunderstandings. We hope this vocabulary helps you become more confident communicating in English.
What are clarifying questions?
We use clarifying questions and phrases when we don’t understand or when something is unclear, ambiguous, or lacking detail. You can ask for clarification by:
- Expressing a lack of understanding
- Checking your current understanding of something
- Asking someone to repeat something you didn’t understand
- Requesting further information to clarify a topic
We’ll cover all these different scenarios in our examples in a moment.
Clarification questions, as with any type of question, can be either open or closed.
A closed question only allows limited responses (often ‘yes’ or ‘no’). An open question allows the person to form a longer, more detailed response.
You will see examples of both types of question used here. Closed questions are suitable when you need a yes/no answer or you want to clarify between two or three possible options. For example:
- Sorry, did you say ‘Tuesday’ or ‘Thursday’?
- So the deadline is 3pm tomorrow, is that correct?
- Would you like to assign this task to Leslie or to Imogen?
Open-ended clarifying questions are more helpful when you want to get more information from the person, or you want them to say something in a different way. For example:
- Could you explain what you mean by …?
- How do you think we should approach this?
- Do you have a specific example of …?
How to ask for clarification politely
Let’s first look at polite clarifying questions and phrases. These are suitable for formal settings, especially in business communication.
How to say that you don’t understand
Sometimes, rather than asking a question, you can just explain that you don’t understand something. The other person will repeat what they said or explain it in a different way. Here are some phrases you can use for this:
- Sorry, I don’t understand.
- I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean.
- I don’t quite follow you, sorry.
- Sorry, I’m a little confused.
It’s more helpful if you can be specific about what you don’t understand, for example:
- I’m not sure what you mean by …
- Sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying about …
- I didn’t catch what you said about …
- Sorry, I’m not quite clear on …
- I’m a little unclear on …
Whether it’s a single word, a phrase, or a general topic, this helps the other person avoid repeating the parts you already understand.
You’ll notice that many of these phrases use the word ‘sorry’ to offer a mild apology for not understanding what the person said. There are many other ways to apologize professionally for more serious matters, often without saying ‘sorry’.
If you often find yourself in a situation where you don’t understand what is being said, you may find it helpful to improve your English listening skills.
How to check your understanding by restating something
Another way to clarify something is to state your understanding and check whether it is correct.
- So, what you’re saying is …?
- Am I correct in thinking that …?
- So, if I understand you correctly, …?
- So, to be clear, you’re saying that …?
- When you say …, do you mean …?
- So, in other words, …
Each of these phrases should be followed by a statement that represents your understanding of what was said. The other person will either affirm your understanding or correct it.
How to ask someone to repeat something
Sometimes, you just need someone to repeat a word or short phrase as you didn’t catch it the first time. For example, if they told you your name, you may want them to repeat it for clarity, but it’s unnecessary to use a very long phrase like “I’m sorry, please could you repeat that?”
In this case, you could use one of these shorter words or phrases – but be sure to use rising intonation so it’s clear you are posing a clarifying question.
- Pardon?
- I beg your pardon?
- Sorry?
For example:
A: Hi, what’s your name?
B: Sebastien
A: Sorry?
B: Sebastien
A: Ah, nice to meet you Sebastien.
Another way to do this is to repeat the word back, as you heard it, and wait for the other person to confirm you said it correctly or provide a correction.
There are different clarification questions you can use if you need someone to repeat something they said mid-sentence.
Let’s imagine someone has told you “Our sales have been particularly xxxx this month.” – but you didn’t catch that one word. Here are some ways you could ask for clarification in this case:
- What was the word you used to describe the sales?
- Particularly what, sorry?
- Sorry, what did you say about the sales?
If you still can’t grasp what they are saying, you could ask them to spell the word out or even write it down for you. It may be that they are using an idiomatic expression that you won’t understand unless you already know what it means.
To ask them to repeat something longer, you can say:
- Please could you repeat the part about …?
- Would you mind saying that again?
- Sorry, I didn’t catch what you said about … Could you repeat it, please?
- Would you mind repeating that for me?
- Could you say that again, please?
You’ll find that we often use indirect questions to phrase requests more politely. You can read about what indirect questions are and how to form them in our separate guide.
One common scenario where you may need to ask for clarification is when on the phone, especially if the sound quality is poor. Our full guide to telephone conversation phrases covers some more useful expressions for phone calls.
How to ask clarification questions to request further information
If something is unclear because you don’t have enough information about it, or some details are lacking, you can ask one of these questions for clarification:
- Please could you tell me more about …?
- Would you elaborate on …, please?
- Could you break that down for me?
- What exactly do you mean by …?
- Sorry, I’m not familiar with what … means.
- Could you explain what you mean by …, please?
- Could you tell me what … stands for? (If they use an abbreviation you don’t understand)
- How are you defining …?
- I’m not sure what you mean by … Could you give an example?
- Could you be more specific, please?
- I wonder if you could say that in a different way; I’m having trouble understanding.
If things are still unclear after asking this type of question, especially if the topic is quite complex and you’re having difficulty following everything, ask if the person could summarize the key points in writing after your conversation or meeting.
Having everything in writing means you can look up any words you don’t recognize and take more time to digest what the person means before you respond.
Alternatively, you could email them to clarify your understanding of a matter, asking them to confirm whether you are correct.
How to ask for clarification in email
The following are all good phrases to politely ask for clarification in email. Some are similar to the clarifying question examples above, but some are specifically for use in writing.
- I’d like to check something with you.
- I’d like to clarify a few things before proceeding.
- I’m not quite clear on a few things.
- Could you please clarify a few details for me?
- Please could you help me understand …?
- My current understanding is that …
- Could you give me some more details about …?
- I’m writing to seek clarification on …
- I’m not sure what you mean when you say …
- Should I … or …? (Giving two possible options)
- I’d just like to check that …
- Is it correct that …?
- I need some extra information about …
- Please could you elaborate on …
- Please could you be more specific about …
- I have some questions about …
- Please could you confirm that this is correct? (After stating your understanding of something)
Informal ways to ask for clarification
We have so far covered polite ways to ask for clarification, but what if you are among friends, family, or colleagues with whom you have a less formal relationship?
Here are some informal phrases and interjections you can use to show you didn’t understand what someone said:
- What?
- You what?
- What was that? / What’s that?
- Huh?
- I don’t get it.
- What do you mean?
- What are you saying?
- Come again?
- Sorry?
- You mean …?
Tips for asking clarifying questions
Even though we have covered a lot of clarifying questions and phrases here, you might feel embarrassed to admit you don’t understand in the first place – especially if it’s in front of a group of people.
Just remember that it is better to ask for clarification than to pretend you understood and later do something wrong because of a misunderstanding. The person you are speaking to will appreciate you taking the time to make sure you understand – it shows that you care about what they are saying!
Also, even if you feel like the other person is at fault for not communicating clearly, try to remain neutral. If they feel that you are accusing them of causing the misunderstanding, they are less likely to respond in a helpful way.
Finally, try to be specific about what you don’t understand. If you have had a long conversation, it might help to summarize the parts you have understood and then let the other person repeat whatever you missed. If you need help understanding a particular word or topic, state this clearly so that the other person can focus on the correct area rather than guessing what you need help with.
Conclusion
There are many different ways to ask for clarification in English, and not all of them involve actually asking a question.
We hope this article has helped clarify things for you when it comes to using clarifying questions and phrases to get the information you need.
