Call an ambulance!
Get an ambulance! / Someone call 911!
Usage
Shouted in a medical emergency to get bystanders to call for an ambulance immediately
Grammar Note
The imperative form ("Call!") conveys urgency and demands immediate action. Omitting "please" reinforces the emergency
Call the police!
Get the police! / Someone call the cops!
Usage
Used in situations requiring police intervention such as crime, violence, or a serious dispute
Grammar Note
"The police" is a collective noun treated as plural. Shouting "Police!" alone is also universally understood
I need a doctor.
Please get me a doctor. / I need to see a doctor.
Usage
Said to hotel staff or bystanders when medical attention is urgently needed
Grammar Note
"Need" signals strong necessity. "I need to see a doctor" is equally common. Add "immediately" or "urgently" to intensify
I've been robbed.
Someone stole from me. / I was robbed.
Usage
Reported to the police when your belongings have been stolen or you were mugged
Grammar Note
The present perfect "I've been robbed" conveys recency and urgency. Use "pickpocketed" specifically for a pickpocket incident
I lost my passport.
My passport is missing. / I can't find my passport.
Usage
Reported to authorities or hotel staff after losing a passport; embassy contact will also be needed
Grammar Note
"Lost" (past simple) describes the state of no longer having it. "I think my passport was stolen" indicates suspected theft
Help!
Someone help me! / Help me, please!
Usage
The most immediate and universal cry for assistance in any dangerous situation
Grammar Note
A single-word imperative sentence. The exclamation mark and raised voice convey extreme urgency. Widely understood globally
I'm lost.
I don't know where I am. / I've lost my way.
Usage
Said to a passerby or police officer when you cannot find your way
Grammar Note
"Lost" as an adjective means unable to find your way. Follow with "Can you help me?" or show a map
I have a severe allergy.
I'm severely allergic. / I have a serious allergy to [substance].
Usage
Communicated to medical staff or restaurant staff to prevent or address a severe allergic reaction
Grammar Note
"Severe" emphasises the seriousness. Add the trigger: "I'm allergic to nuts / shellfish / peanuts / bee stings"
Is there a hospital nearby?
Is there a hospital nearby? / Is there a hospital close by?
Usage
Asked when urgent medical care is needed; swap "hospital" for "clinic" or "pharmacy" as needed
Grammar Note
"Nearby" is an adverb/adjective meaning close by. "Where's the nearest hospital?" is a direct alternative for directions
I need to contact my embassy.
I need to reach my embassy. / Can you help me contact my embassy?
Usage
Used in serious emergencies such as lost documents, arrest, or injury requiring official consular assistance
Grammar Note
"Embassy" is the main diplomatic mission; a "consulate" is a smaller office. Smaller cities may only have a consulate
Stop it.
Usage
Show the screen to firmly refuse persistent touts or unwanted contact — it works without saying a word
Don't touch me.
Usage
A flat refusal when someone touches you; it is meant to be blunt, so show it as written
Fire
Usage
One word to say a building or woodland is burning; shouted as "Fire!" and repeated
Thief
Usage
The person who stole; the plural is "thieves"
Snatching
Usage
Grabbing a bag and running off with it; "bag snatching" is also understood
Pickpocket
Usage
Someone who lifts wallets in a crowd; the act itself is "pickpocketing"
Kidnapping
Usage
Report that a person has been taken away against their will
Murder
Usage
The word for an unlawful killing; a killing without intent is called "manslaughter"
Riot
Usage
Tells someone a large crowd has turned violent
Bomb
Usage
Show this to report a suspicious package or an explosive device
Fire! Run!
Usage
Shouted to warn people there is a fire and to get them to run
Grammar Note
The one-word alarm "Fire!" is the noun shouted on its own; "Run!" is a subjectless imperative, and as in "Call an ambulance!" dropping "please" is what carries the urgency
Thief! Catch him!
Usage
Shouted to alert bystanders and get them to catch a thief who is running away
Grammar Note
"Thief!" is the noun shouted on its own. The set cry keeps "him" even when the thief's gender is unknown; say "Catch her!" if you know otherwise
Please call a fire engine.
Please call a fire engine
Usage
Ask someone to call the fire brigade for a fire or a rescue
Grammar Note
The frame of "Please call an ambulance." with the noun of "Fire engine" filled in. The call goes to the fire brigade in both British and American usage, but naming the vehicle is understood
Where is the police station?
Usage
Use to find the nearest police station, for example to report a crime
Grammar Note
The same frame as "Where is the nearest hospital?". "Police" names the force and "station" the building; together they name the premises
Please make a theft report.
Please make a theft report
Usage
Use at a police station to get the written theft report an insurance claim needs
Grammar Note
"Report" is the word of "I need to report a lost card.", here as a noun. The "Please + verb" request is built as in "Please wait"
Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?
Usage
Use at a police station or hospital to look for someone who speaks Japanese
Grammar Note
The existential question "Is there …?" is the frame of "Is there an elevator?". "Speak" is the verb of "Do you speak English?"; the antecedent "anyone" is third-person singular, so the relative clause takes "speaks"
This person is unconscious.
This person is unconscious
Usage
Tell paramedics or bystanders that a collapsed person is not conscious
Grammar Note
The demonstrative "This" comes from "This painting is beautiful." and "person" from "One person". The text says "This person" so it can be shown while pointing at the casualty
Someone is drowning!
Someone is drowning
Usage
Shouted to report that someone is drowning and to bring help
Grammar Note
The "be + -ing" present progressive reports what is happening right now, the same frame as "My child is feeling sick." for reporting a third party's condition on the spot; shouting "Help!" after it carries further
I was beaten.
I was beaten
Usage
Report to the police or a doctor that you were assaulted
Grammar Note
"Was" ("When was this museum built?") plus a past participle forms the passive, which reports the harm without naming who did it — the same reporting frame as "I've been robbed."
I was stabbed.
I was stabbed
Usage
Tell paramedics or police you were stabbed with a blade — a top-priority injury
Grammar Note
A passive frame. "Stab" is specifically a thrust with a blade; a slash is "cut" and a gunshot wound is "shot"
My room was broken into.
My room was broken into
Usage
Report to police or hotel staff that your room was entered while you were out
Grammar Note
"Room" comes from "Can I see the room first?" and "broken" from "Broken bone". "Break into" is a phrasal verb, and the preposition "into" stays behind the verb even in the passive
That person is the culprit.
That person is the culprit
Usage
Point out the offender to the police; you can show it without saying anything
Grammar Note
The demonstrative "That" comes from "That one over there" and "person" from "One person". "Culprit" is the everyday word for whoever did it rather than a legal finding of guilt; soften it with "I think that person did it." if you are unsure
I was deceived.
I was deceived
Usage
Report a scam or a rip-off to the police
Grammar Note
A passive frame. "I was scammed." is the more everyday wording when money was taken, and "Stop ripping me off!" is what you say while it is happening
My wallet was stolen.
My wallet was stolen
Usage
Report to the police that your wallet was stolen
Grammar Note
A "was + past participle" passive. Where "I've been robbed." makes the owner the subject, this makes the stolen object the subject; British English may call it a "purse"
I left it behind.
I left it behind
Usage
Say you left something behind in a shop or a vehicle
Grammar Note
"Behind" is the word of "Have you got any stamps behind the counter?". "Leave … behind" is the phrasal verb for forgetting something where you were, and the pronoun "it" must sit between the two parts — never "I left behind it"
I was hit by a car.
I was hit by a car
Usage
Tell paramedics or police that a car hit you
Grammar Note
A passive, with "by" naming the agent. "Car" is the word of "I'd like to report a scratch on the car."; "hit" keeps the same form in the past participle
Please escape through the emergency exit.
Please escape through the emergency exit
Usage
Tell someone to get out through the emergency exit in a fire or similar
Grammar Note
"Emergency exit" is the sign wording (capitalised as "Emergency Exit" on the sign). The preposition for a route you pass along is "through", not "from"
Watch out!
Usage
Shouted or shown to make someone notice an immediate danger
Grammar Note
The phrasal verb used in "Watch out for jellyfish!" and "Watch out for the current.", shouted on its own without naming the hazard; "Look out!" means the same
Please hurry.
Please hurry
Usage
Ask someone to hurry with a rescue or a procedure
Grammar Note
A "Please + verb" request built like "Please wait" and "Please speak slowly". "Hurry up!" is much sharper and sounds rude outside a genuine emergency
Please come right away.
Please come right away
Usage
Ask a doctor or the police to come to where you are at once
Grammar Note
"Come" is the verb ("I'll come again") and "To come", in the "Please + verb" frame. "Right away" means "immediately" and is the ordinary spoken choice
It's an emergency.
It's an emergency
Usage
Say this when you are being made to wait and the situation cannot wait
Grammar Note
"It's" is the contraction used in "It's OK". "Emergency" is the noun of "What is the emergency signal underwater?"; it begins with a vowel, so the article is "an"
Please take me to a hospital.
Please take me to a hospital
Usage
Ask a taxi driver or a passer-by to take you to a hospital
Grammar Note
"Take me to" keeps the wording of "Can you take me to this address?". The article is "a", not "the", because any hospital will do
There's been a traffic accident.
There has been a traffic accident
Usage
Tell an emergency line or the people around you that a road accident has happened
Grammar Note
The "There's been a(n) + noun" frame of "There's been an accident — please call ski patrol." with "accident" qualified by "traffic", the same word as in "traffic police" and "traffic light". The article is "a", not "an", because "traffic" begins with a consonant
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