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Meantolearn Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

Do you have any/some earlier time available?

Is it okay to ask if an appointment of seeing a doctor is set up a long way off?

1. Do you have any earlier time available?

2. Do you have some earlier time available?

Any other better suggestions?

Thanks,
  

Top answer

Hi, When we speak of a period of time, like 2 hours, we can say some time or any time. We treat 'time' as an uncountable noun. But when we speak of 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, we call each of these a time , so these are 3 times.

— Clive

  • Hi, When we speak of a period of time, like 2 hours, we can say some time or any time.
  • We treat 'time' as an uncountable noun.
  • But when we speak of 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, we call each of these a time , so these are 3 times.
  • Here, time is countable.
  • So, in your example, the normal thing to ask is Do you have an earlier time available?
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10 Answers
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Hi,

When we speak of a period of time, like 2 hours, we can say some time or any time. We treat 'time' as an uncountable noun. But when we speak of 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, we call each of these a time, so these are 3 times. Here, time is countable.

So, in your example, the normal thing to ask is Do you have
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Hi Clive,

Thank you for your help.

Very interesting! I didn't know 'time' has such usages as you pointed out.

In fact, the appointment is made 3 weeks from now. Is it still okay to ask, "Do you have an earlier time available?"

Thanks,
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Hi,

Yes, that would be OK.

Clive
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"Do you have an earlier time available" will do the trick, but that's just a yes-no question. It's too easy to get shot down with a "no" that way. Why not ask in such a way that the question presumes they have an earlier time available?

"What time do you have available before that?"

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Hi CJ,

You wrote, "What time do have available before that?"

Does it have some typos? Did you mean "What time do you have available before that?"

Thanks for the reply.
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Thanks, meantolearn!
I fixed it. Emotion: smile
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It would be normal just to say 'do you have an earlier appointment'. This, or any, use of the word earlier could be taken to mean earlier in the day offered. You may want to request an earlier day. In which case ask ' do you have an earlier date than that'
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Do you have an earlier time? - I would take this to mean an earlier TIME (i.e. 11am instead of 3pm) on the same date. For an earlier date , you need to ask for an earlier date as the last poster suggested.

You could also try 'Is nothing available before that?' or 'Is that the very earliest I could be soon?' 'Is there any way I could be seen before that?'
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Hi guys,

I agree with all these refinements, but I just want to suggest to learners that we don't always take care to speak with precision. The kind of exchange that would be typical, in my opinion, might be something like:

Receptionist: I can fit you in next Wednesday at 4pm?

Patient: Do you have anything earlier?
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Thanks, folks.

The usage of the question is getting clearer.

Thanks for your contributions again.
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