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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary
to be away, to be out, to be unavailable
Hi,
Scenario:
Someone comes to the office where you work and asks you whether your colleague John Smith is in....
I'd like to figure out what the following possible replies may actually mean:
(1) John just stepped out for a minute. = John is in the office today but he has just stepped out (to have a sigarette, to respond to the call of nature, and the like? :-)
(2) Sorry, John is away.
=?? Your interpretation? John is on a business trip today and will not be available until tommorrow (etc)?
(3) Sorry, John is not available.
=?? Your interpretation? It might mean, "John is not available at the moment but should be available after 4 p.m., etc.?
In other words, "John is not available" is in fact ambiguous if no additional information (time of John being unavailable) is given?
(4) Can I say, that "to be away" is, in a way, stronger than "to be not available" in the contexts mentioned above?
Hope my queries make sense to you.......
mus-te
Scenario:
Someone comes to the office where you work and asks you whether your colleague John Smith is in....
I'd like to figure out what the following possible replies may actually mean:
(1) John just stepped out for a minute. = John is in the office today but he has just stepped out (to have a sigarette, to respond to the call of nature, and the like? :-)
(2) Sorry, John is away.
=?? Your interpretation? John is on a business trip today and will not be available until tommorrow (etc)?
(3) Sorry, John is not available.
=?? Your interpretation? It might mean, "John is not available at the moment but should be available after 4 p.m., etc.?
In other words, "John is not available" is in fact ambiguous if no additional information (time of John being unavailable) is given?
(4) Can I say, that "to be away" is, in a way, stronger than "to be not available" in the contexts mentioned above?
Hope my queries make sense to you.......
mus-te
Top answer
Hi, You have the right general understanding of these phrases. Another common one is John is not in (the office) right now. 'Not available' is often used as a polite way of saying 'He doesn't want to see you'.
- Hi, You have the right general understanding of these phrases.
- Another common one is John is not in (the office) right now.
- 'Not available' is often used as a polite way of saying 'He doesn't want to see you'.
- Visitors often respond with eg Do you know when he will be available, please?
- Clive
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1 Answers
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Hi,
You have the right general understanding of these phrases.
Another common one is John is not in (the office) right now.
'Not available' is often used as a polite way of saying 'He doesn't want to see you'.
You have the right general understanding of these phrases.
Another common one is John is not in (the office) right now.
'Not available' is often used as a polite way of saying 'He doesn't want to see you'.
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