“Hey, can we go back to what you were saying about the deposit slips? I have a question.”

English Lesson: Hey, can we go back to what you were saying about the deposit slips? I have a question.

You just got a job as a bank teller. You're being trained. A few minutes ago, the trainer talked about deposit slips. Now she's moved to a different topic, but you have another question about deposits. You ask to return to that topic.

Hey, can we go back to what you were saying about the deposit slips? I have a question.

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a deposit slip

A "slip" is like a form, but it's usually smaller than a full sheet of paper. Some examples of "slips" are:

  • permissions slips (for school field trips, etc.)
  • deposit slips
  • wire transfer slips
  • a pink slip (which is a piece of paper telling someone that they've been fired or laid off)

"Deposit slips" are pieces of paper that you have to fill out when you're depositing money into a bank account. You write your name, the amount of money you're depositing, your account number, and so on.

Hey

You say "Hey" at the beginning of a sentence in casual English when you want to get someone's attention. For example:

Hey, Hitomi, can you hand me that box over there?

It's common to say "Hey" before you ask someone a question, or when someone has done something that's wrong or unfair:

Hey, you're taking up the whole bed!

Use "hey" with people you know or are familiar with. When you're talking to people you don't know as well, "Excuse me" is more polite.

go back to (something)

In a conversation or a discussion, talking about a topic that you talked about before is called "going back to ___". For example, imagine a conversation between you and a friend:

  1. You talk about your job.
  2. Then you ask your friend about his children.
  3. Then your friend asks more questions about your job.

In this case, your friend might say:

Hey, I wanted to go back to your job. What were you saying about your boss?

If you're describing this conversation to someone else, you might say:

I asked him about his kids, but thene we went back to my job. So I told him...

A similar phrase is "come back to ___". Use this when you're having a conversation and you know that you might want to discuss a topic again later:

Let's move on, but we can come back to this later if anyone has any questions.

I have a question.

Say this to get someone's attention before you ask a question.

Dr. Mariel, I have a question. What do you mean when you say "economic liberalism"?

This phrase is common in somewhat formal situations like classrooms, meetings, lectures, and so on.