Which word or phrase is most suitable in this case?

Hello, Movie, welcome to the English Forums!

If you use "today", it's a bit weird to use the simple past; the present perfect would be better: "I've encountered a problem today".

Encounter is indeed not that common, since it's a bit formal. I would rather use it in writing than in speech.

I'd say 'I faced a problem today', but there are other ways of saying the same thing (e.g. I was in a lot of trouble today...)

P.S. welcome to the forum!

PieanneHello, Movie, welcome to the English Forums!

If you use "today", it's a bit weird to use the simple past; the present perfect would be better: "I've encountered a problem today".

Er.. wouldn't that mean the problem is still there or the results are clearly seen? If the problem is fixed, I'd personally use the past simple, indicating i

I know, but today is still today... I'd say "this morning", or "this afternoon", then... But maybe I'm being overly garmmatical

PieanneI know, but today is still today... I'd say "this morning", or "this afternoon", then...

True

Thank you Pieanne and Vince, I find this forum a really good place!

You two are talking about the tense, but I think that's not the part I wanted to ask...-_-b Please replace "today" with "this morning" or any other time modifier you want... I just wanna find a suitable word or phrase for the position of "encounter". And I think maybe "face" cannot express that "sudden" meaning exactly.

I'd choose "I faced a problem this morning", or "I was faced with a problem this morning".

Hi,

We commonly just say 'I had a problem today'. If it was large, just say 'a big problem', or perhaps 'a serious problem'.

Best wishes, Clive

Yes, of course. I just thought that "face" was more commonly used than "encounter", assuming the problem was rather important. Thank you, Clive!

I think the most common in conversation would be either "I had a problem today" or "I ran into a problem today."