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Do you say "What time is it now?" Is it natural English or not?
I'm a foreign student studying English.
I learned that you say "What time is it now?" when you want to know the time.
But another book says that this expression sounds weird to native speakers and that they say "Do you have the time?" instead.
I wonder whether the expression "What time is it now" really sounds weird or not. If so, please tell me why you think it sounds weird and what expression I should use instead. Since situations might be different from country to country, please let me know where you are from, too.
Thank you very much.
8 Answers
- TodLv 68 years agoFavorite Answer
"What time is it now?" is okay, but you can leave off the word "now". Also, especially in the US, you should be less direct. Americans prefer a softer approach, like:
"Excuse me, what time is it?"
"Excuse me, what time do you have?" (Less formal)
It's softer. You get someone's attention first with "Excuse me", then ask for the time."
By the way, it's 1:35 PM. :0)
- 8 years ago
When speaking in a regular conversation you would say "What time is it". The only reason you would add the "now" part would be if you've asked the question before. Say you ask a friend "What time is it" because you're waiting for something. They tell you the time and 10 minutes later you ask again, you could say "What time is it now?". So if you ask more than once, you normally would put "now" at the end.
"Do you have the time" is a polite way of asking for the time if you're talking to a stranger or someone formal like at a job meeting.
Source(s): I'm from the USA - 8 years ago
It sounds a little weird but not too much.Most people say what time is it or do you have the time.
- ?Lv 48 years ago
It makes sense but it's more natural to say "What time is it?"
Leave out the now
Source(s): Murrican - How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer.
- 8 years ago
From the US. You can say either way, you can even just take off now and say "What time is it?". "Do you have the time?" is a more polite way of asking.
- Anonymous8 years ago
"now" is unnecessary. "What time is it?" would be best. Its assumed you mean "Now" unless you state otherwise.
Compare to asking about a past event: "What time was it when we started?"