as soon as possible

People use the phrase "as soon as possible" to talk about things that need to be done quickly:

Please call me back as soon as possible.

I need an answer as soon as possible.

When you use this phrase to talk about something that's not very urgent, people may think that you are being impatient.

Sometimes "as soon as possible" is shortened to the acronym "ASAP".

This phrase appears in these lessons: