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What would a native English speaker say when he's making a promise to meet at today's noon?

For example:

I'm going to meet you this noon.

Does the sentence above sound weird to a native English speaker? What would be the best and most polite way to rephrase this in a native English speaker environment?

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4 Answers 4

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It seems strange for me to say to a friend: "I'm going to meet you at ...".

It's as if I were telling them what to do. It's fine if the listener is your child, but otherwise? I suppose if the listener had forgotten about our appointment then it would be then possible to say:

What? Don't you remember? I'm going to meet you today at noon.

The preposition used with noon is at. However, it is worth pointing out that not all English native speakers will say, noon. British speakers will tend to opt for midday or even lunchtime. The latter is often said, especially between employees working in the same company. Their lunchtime may or may not start at 12.00. Obviously, if they are both at their desks until 13.00 then lunchtime would be at that hour.

Therefore a British English speaker might say:

We're meeting at midday, today.

EDIT: If you have not already arranged and fixed a meeting with your friend
then Hellion's suggestion is the most appropriate one. With promises, the modal will is commonly used.

I'll meet you today at noon
I'll meet you (tomorrow/on Monday/this Tuesday etc.) at midday

A more polite sentence is to form a request or suggestion using one of the following modals: shall, would, could, and can.

1) Shall we meet today at noon?
2) Would you mind if we met today at noon?
3) Could we meet at midday?
4) Can we meet each other at lunchtime?

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  • To my (British English) ears, midday and lunchtime are much less specific than "noon", and we would not normally use either when being precise. Normally we'd just say "At 12" - or in the unlikely even that there's ambiguity between 12AM and 12PM, we'd go with "at 12 noon" or just "at noon".
    – Matt
    Commented Dec 14, 2013 at 6:49
  • @Matt If the appointment was at midnight, what time would you turn up?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 14, 2013 at 11:43
  • I agree that noon is more specific than lunchtime, but the latter is often said, especially between employees. If neither person is working then the least problematic would without doubt, be giving the precise time. However, the OP was specifically asking about noon and I mentioned that midday is a common expression in the UK.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 14, 2013 at 11:56
  • lunchtime informally means noon between employees only if they have a lunch break starting at noon. Employees breaking for lunch at 12:30 would not understand "Let's meet at the cafe at lunchtime" to mean noon.
    – Matt
    Commented Dec 14, 2013 at 16:15
  • If we were colleagues working for the same company and we shared the same shifts we would, however, know what time "lunchtime" was. Obviously if we are both at our desks until 13.00 then lunchtime would be at that hour. I just thought it would be useful for the OP to know there are alternatives. Nevertheless I understand that "lunchtime" might be ambiguous in the context, so I'll edit my answer.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 14, 2013 at 16:21
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Yes, that does sound a bit off, even though "this morning" and "this afternoon" can both be perfectly valid. (I think that it's because "noon" is a specific point in time, rather than a span of time.)

Most likely I would simply say

I'll meet you at noon.

If you need to clarify what day you'll be meeting, you can say

I'll meet you at noon today. [or "at noon tomorrow", or "at noon next Tuesday"]

(you can also put the time after the date if you want, as in "today at noon".)

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  • We might also say "this Tuesday," but, as you said, it would be "at noon this Tuesday."
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Dec 13, 2013 at 19:22
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In this case, context is everything. It is almost never the case that when talking to someone it is ambiguous as to whether you intend to meet them at midnight rather than at noon, and hence most native speakers would simply say:

I'll meet you at 12!

Let's meet at the cafe at twelve o'Clock.

In the unlikely event that there is ambiguity, you can always just say noon:

We're going to gather at my house to watch the cricket, which starts at noon.

The ship will be getting into the Maldives at noon.

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"Noon" is generally understood as 1200 hours. If you mean "high noon", when the sun is highest overhead, this varies with time of year on official time systems. In Hawaii, this was 1247 in mid-February, crept back to 1229 in mid-May, and is now 1230 on 23 May. "Meet you at 12 noon" might not be elegant, but perhaps the clearest way to express that thought.

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