Learn English – the correct way to ask someone to take a photograph of us

Most native speakers of English will only ask for a repeat once or twice, and after that will pretend they understood, so as not to appear rude. I don't mind if people ask me more than twice, but from observing people - twice seems to be a social norm.

I would usually say:

What?

What was that?

Sorry, what?

I didn't get that.

I didn't catch that.

I missed that.

Say that again.

Remember that it takes a fair bit of skill to say "What?" without sounding rude, so if you are worried about sounding rude, don't use "What?" and don't forget to add please and thank you. Native speakers, however, will often just say "What?".

If you are asking a second time you can add "still" or some other modifier:

I still didn't get that.

I still didn't catch that.

I missed that again.

Sorry, one more time.

When asking multiple times "What?" sounds rude very quickly.

Sure. There are lots of ways you could ask, and that's one of them:

• Will it take long?
• Will it take a long time?
• Will it take a long time to finish?
• When do you think it'll be done?
• When do you think it might be done?
• Could you tell me when you think it might be done?
• Do you have any idea how long it might take?

As usual, you can insert meaningless hedge words like might to soften the question, and you can make it more polite by using less direct language such as could you instead of will. What level of politeness or directness is appropriate is, of course, something you'll have to determine by context.

And context can change everything. For example, if you're dropping off a document to get copies printed up, you might ask when you can come back to pick them up. The following question isn't literally about when the printing will finish or how long it will take, but it would nonetheless be a perfectly natural way of asking:

• When should I come back?

But speaking devoid of context, your way is fine.