如果你常在職場用英文，一定踩過這個雷：
問別人時間時，只會說 When?
但其實 When 超級模糊，對外國同事來說，他可能會心想：
👉 When 是今天？明天？星期幾？幾點？
所以英文時間問法有 四個精準度層次：
- When：範圍最廣，模糊
- What day：問星期幾
- What date：問幾月幾號
- What time：最精確，幾點幾分
今天就用職場對話，帶你一次學會 ask time English。
🎧Apple Podcast | Spotify
💬 Dialogue｜英文會話
📍 情境設定
兩位同事 Mia 和 Ryan 正在安排下週的專案簡報（presentation）。
需要決定週幾、日期及具體開會時間。
English Dialogue
Mia: Hey Ryan, when do you want to schedule our project meeting?
Ryan: Sometime next week works for me.
Mia: Alright, what day is good for you?
Ryan: Thursday is better.
Mia: Got it. And what date is Thursday?
Ryan: It’s March 14th.
Mia: Perfect. So what time should we start?
Ryan: How about 10:30 a.m.?
Mia: Works for me. Should we book a meeting room?
Ryan: Yes. I’ll reserve Room B.
Mia: Great. By the way, what time do you need the slides?
Ryan: If possible, send them by 9 a.m.
Mia: Sure. I’ll get them ready.
Ryan: Awesome. Thanks, Mia.
中文翻譯
Mia： Ryan，我們的專案會議什麼時候排比較好？
Ryan： 下週的某一天都可以。
Mia： 好，那星期幾比較適合你？
Ryan： 星期四比較好。
Mia： 了解，那星期四是幾號？
Ryan： 是 3 月 14 號。
Mia： 完美，那我們要幾點開始？
Ryan： 早上 10 點半如何？
Mia： 可以。要不要先訂會議室？
Ryan： 要，我會訂 B 會議室。
Mia： 好，順帶問一下，你需要簡報檔幾點前？
Ryan： 如果可以，早上 9 點前寄給我。
Mia： 沒問題，我會準備好。
Ryan： 太好了，謝啦。
📚 Vocabulary Boost｜重點單字
| 單字 / 片語 | 詞性 | 中文意思 | 英文例句 | 中文翻譯 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| when | adv. | 何時 | When is the meeting? | 會議什麼時候？ |
| what day | phr. | 星期幾 | What day works for you? | 哪一天適合你？ |
| what date | phr. | 幾月幾號 | What date is the presentation? | 簡報是幾號？ |
| what time | phr. | 幾點 | What time should we start? | 我們幾點開始？ |
| schedule | v. | 排程 | Let’s schedule the meeting today. | 我們今天排一下會議。 |
| reserve | v. | 預訂 | I’ll reserve Room B. | 我會預訂 B 會議室。 |
| slides | n. | 簡報檔 | Please send me the slides by noon. | 中午前寄我簡報檔。 |
| works for me | phr. | 我可以/沒問題 | 10 a.m. works for me. | 10 點我可以。 |
| by | prep. | 在…之前 | Send it by 9 a.m. | 9 點前寄出來。 |
| sometime next week | phr. | 下週某一天 | I’m free sometime next week. | 下週某一天我有空。 |
🔍 Sentence Patterns｜句型整理
| 句型結構 | 中文意思 | 英文例句 | 中文翻譯 |
|---|---|---|---|
| When do you want to…? | 你什麼時候想…？ | When do you want to schedule the meeting? | 你想什麼時候開會？ |
| What day works for you? | 哪一天適合你？ | What day works for you for the call? | 哪一天適合視訊？ |
| What date is…? | …是幾號？ | What date is the deadline? | 截止日是幾號？ |
| What time should we…? | 我們幾點要…？ | What time should we start? | 我們幾點開始？ |
| How about + 時間？ | …怎麼樣？ | How about 10:30 a.m.? | 10:30 可以嗎？ |
| I’ll reserve… | 我會預訂… | I’ll reserve a room. | 我會訂會議室。 |
| Do you need it by…? | 你需要…之前嗎？ | Do you need it by tomorrow? | 你明天前需要嗎？ |
📖 Transcript 逐字稿
M: Welcome to MJ English.
M: 歡迎來到 MJ English。
J: Today, we’re tackling something that I think everyone runs into at work: scheduling.
J: 今天我們要來處理一個、嗯，在職場幾乎每個人都會遇到的問題：排時間（行程安排）。
M: Oh, absolutely.
M: 沒錯，真的。
J: Specifically, we want to talk about how to stop asking just “when?”
J: 更具體地說，我們要談的是：不要只問一句「When（什麼時候）？」
J: It seems so simple, but it’s just incredibly vague.
J: 這看起來超簡單，但實際上超級模糊。
M: It is. That single word can really confuse your colleagues. You know, they’re left wondering, “Do you mean today, next week, what time?”
M: 沒錯。只丟一個字會讓同事一頭霧水，你知道的，他們會想：「你是指今天、下週，還是幾點？」
J: Yeah, you need to be so much more specific. So we’re going to show you how to be crystal clear.
J: 對，你需要講得更明確。所以我們會示範怎麼把話講到一清二楚。
M: But first, let’s just listen to a quick conversation between two colleagues, Mia and Ryan. They’re trying to schedule a project meeting.
M: 不過先來聽一段簡短對話，主角是兩位同事 Mia 跟 Ryan。他們正在喬一個專案會議的時間。
兩位同事 Mia 和 Ryan 正在安排下週的專案簡報（presentation）。
需要決定週幾、日期及具體開會時間。
English Dialogue
Mia: Hey Ryan, when do you want to schedule our project meeting?
Ryan: Sometime next week works for me.
Mia: Alright, what day is good for you?
Ryan: Thursday is better.
Mia: Got it. And what date is Thursday?
Ryan: It’s March 14th.
Mia: Perfect. So what time should we start?
Ryan: How about 10:30 a.m.?
Mia: Works for me. Should we book a meeting room?
Ryan: Yes. I’ll reserve Room B.
Mia: Great. By the way, what time do you need the slides?
Ryan: If possible, send them by 9 a.m.
Mia: Sure. I’ll get them ready.
Ryan: Awesome. Thanks, Mia.
中文翻譯
Mia： Ryan，我們的專案會議什麼時候排比較好？
Ryan： 下週的某一天都可以。
Mia： 好，那星期幾比較適合你？
Ryan： 星期四比較好。
Mia： 了解，那星期四是幾號？
Ryan： 是 3 月 14 號。
Mia： 完美，那我們要幾點開始？
Ryan： 早上 10 點半如何？
Mia： 可以。要不要先訂會議室？
Ryan： 要，我會訂 B 會議室。
Mia： 好，順帶問一下，你需要簡報檔幾點前？
Ryan： 如果可以，早上 9 點前寄給我。
Mia： 沒問題，我會準備好。
Ryan： 太好了，謝啦。
J: So, a pretty straightforward conversation, right?
J: 所以，這段對話其實蠻直白的，對吧？
M: Right, but it’s how they got there that’s important. Let’s look at how Mia and Ryan moved from that very vague start to a really specific plan.
M: 對，但重點是「他們怎麼走到那一步」。我們來看 Mia 和 Ryan 怎麼把一開始很模糊的對話，變成一個非常明確的計畫。
M: There were really four essential levels for asking about time, and they used all of them. This is how you avoid being ambiguous.
M: 問時間其實有四個關鍵層次，他們全都用上了。這樣就能避免講得不清不楚。
J: The first one is that big, vague question we talked about, “When?” It’s the broadest option.
J: 第一層就是我們剛說的那個很大很空的問題：「When（什麼時候）？」這是最廣泛、最不精確的問法。
M: Yeah, your colleague is just thinking, “When could possibly mean anything?”
M: 沒錯，你同事只會想：「When 可能代表任何時間吧？」
M: So Mia immediately narrows it down. Level two is asking, “What day?”
M: 所以 Mia 馬上把範圍縮小。第二層是問：「哪一天（What day）？」
J: Right. So, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday?
J: 對，比如：星期一、星期二、星期四？
M: Then she gets even more specific, which is so important. Level three, “What date?” Because just saying “Thursday” isn’t enough, is it?
M: 接著她更精確，這超重要。第三層是問：「幾號（What date）？」因為只說「星期四」其實不夠，對吧？
J: Not at all. Is it this Thursday, next Thursday? So she asks for the date, March 14th. Now there’s no confusion.
J: 一點也不夠。是這個星期四，還是下個星期四？所以她直接問日期：3 月 14 日。這樣就不會有誤會了。
M: And only then, once all of that is set, does she get to level four, the most precise question.
M: 等到前面都確認好之後，她才進到第四層、也就是最精準的提問。
J: “What time?”
J: 「幾點（What time）？」
M: “What time?” which gets them to 10:30 a.m.
M: 「幾點？」於是他們就敲定在上午 10:30。
J: And that’s the path. You go from broad to specific.
J: 路徑就是這樣：從寬到窄、由粗到細。
M: Let’s also pull out a few vocabulary points that made that conversation flow so well.
M: 我們順便把讓對話很順的幾個字抓出來講一下。
J: Yeah, there were some great words in there. We heard functional verbs like “schedule” and “reserve.”
J:裡面有幾個很棒的詞，像是功能型動詞「schedule（排程）」和「reserve（預約）」。
J: To reserve a room, for example.
J: 比方說「預約一間會議室」。
M: Exactly. And a key noun that you’ll hear all the time in the office: “slides.” You know, the presentation file.
M: 沒錯。還有辦公室超常聽到的一個關鍵名詞：「slides（投影片）」，也就是簡報檔。
J: And what about phrases? There were a couple of really useful ones.
J: 那片語呢？也有幾個超好用的。
M: “Sometime next week” is a great way to give a general time frame.
M: 「sometime next week（下週某個時間）」就是一種很好的「大概時間範圍」說法。
J: And my favorite response, which is just so efficient, “Works for me.”
J: 我最喜歡的回覆是超有效率的那句：「Works for me（我可以／可以呀）」。
M: Yes, it’s perfect. It means, “I can do that,” or “That’s no problem.” Super useful.
M: 對，超好用。意思是「我 OK」、「沒問題」，超級實用。
J: So if you’re trying to schedule things at work, there are maybe a few sentence patterns you should really try to remember.
J: 所以如果你在公司要喬時間，有幾個句型真的要背起來。
M: I’d say if you only remember three phrases, make it these. First, “What day works for you?” It’s a great, polite way to ask.
M: 我會說就算只記三句，也要這三句。第一句：「What day works for you?（哪一天你方便？）」這是很禮貌又好用的問法。
J: Not just, “What day do you want?” “Works for you” is better.
J: 不要只問「What day do you want?（你要哪一天？）」；用「works for you」會更體貼。
M: It is. It’s more collaborative.
M: 沒錯，語氣更合作、更體諒。
J: Then, to confirm, “What date is it?” Like, “What date is the deadline?”
J: 接著要確認可以用：「What date is it?（幾號？）」像是「What date is the deadline?（截止日是幾號？）」
M: And finally, for suggesting a specific time. The best way is, “How about…?” “How about 10:30 a.m.?” It’s a suggestion, not a command.
M: 最後是提出具體時間。最好的開頭是「How about…」。例如：「How about 10:30 a.m.?（早上 10:30 怎麼樣？）」這是提議，不是命令。
J: And I also liked Ryan’s action phrase at the end there.
J: 我也很喜歡 Ryan 最後那句帶行動的說法。
M: “I’ll reserve…”
M: 「I’ll reserve…（我來預約……）」
J: “I’ll reserve room B.” Yeah, it shows you’re taking the next step.
J: 「I’ll reserve room B.（我來預約 B 教室／B 會議室。）」對，這就表示你主動往下一步走了。
J: So that really covers the essentials for, you know, being precise when you’re scheduling things in the office.
J: 所以以上差不多涵蓋了在公司排時間時，如何把話說精準的重點。
M: Yeah, just knowing these four levels of “when” will dramatically improve your communication with colleagues. It cuts down on so much back and forth.
M: 對，只要掌握「When 的四個層次」，你跟同事溝通會大幅提升，也能少掉很多來回確認。
J: Want a full transcript, key vocabulary, and useful sentence patterns? Just click the link below.
J: 想要完整版逐字稿、重點單字和好用句型？直接點下面的連結。
M: Thanks for learning with us today.
M: 感謝今天跟我們一起學習。
J: See you next time.
J: 下次見啦。
