For this sentence:
Do we have any meeting at this time?
Is using at this time correct here, or should I use some other expression in its place? E.g.:
Do we have any meeting right now?
-
1Are you talking about whether meetings are currently scheduled or whether you have a meeting taking place at this very moment?– user230Feb 27, 2013 at 11:17
-
@snailplane I mean, are there any meeting right now or in the next 5-10 minutes?– MaxFeb 27, 2013 at 13:14
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
Ordinarily, I'd expect a question like “Do we have any meeting at this time?” to appear in the context of one person pointing at a meeting slot on a calendar or schedule, asking another person if the slot is open.
I would not expect a native speaker to ask me “Do we have any meeting at this time?” when they mean “Do we have any meeting right now?”. Instead, they would say, “Do we have a meeting now?”.
This is not to say there is any problem with the phrasings suggested in the question. Both are grammatical, understandable, and possibly close enough to native-English patterns to pass without remark in ordinary conversation.
answered Feb 27, 2013 at 7:34
-
I wouldn't myself use at this time to mean 'now', but I believe some do. Feb 27, 2013 at 8:35
-
In this context, 'now' is the correct word to use. In formal settings, "at this time" is interchangeable with "at present". For example, in an interview with a business leader, it would be perfectly normal to hear: "At this time, we do not have any plans to expand into Europe." It can also come at the end of the sentence. "We have nothing further to report, at this time."– XantixMay 25, 2013 at 7:44
I would say “Do we have a meeting right now?” or “Are there any meetings right now?”
At this time doesn't quite seem right; as mentioned in a comment on another answer, it usually means ‘at present’ or ‘nowadays’ rather than a more specific ‘now’.
Any meeting isn't quite right. Any should be used in the plural, and should be used only if there's a possibility of more than one meeting. (In other sentences, any can used with a singular. Then it tends to have the meaning of ‘any at all’ or ‘any kind’.)
