at this occasion/on this occasion

[jiamajia]

I don't want to talk about it at this occasion.

I don't want to talk about it on this occasion.


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Which is correct? Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

'...on this occasion.'

Rover

 

[BobK]

:up: Probably the confusion is with 'at this time'. That phrase has suffered from overuse - in the mouths of self-important speakers and writers (who often use it to mean 'now'). So, on this occasion, the speaker started to say 'at this time', swallowed back the cliché, and changed the noun at the last minute (having used the wrong preposition).

b

 

[emsr2d2]

There is one possibility where "at this occasion" could be used. For example, if you're talking about a wedding being "a happy/joyous occasion".

Let's say the best man is making his speech and he starts talking about a time in the groom's childhood when he did something very embarrassing or stupid. He might get halfway through it and say

"Anyway, I don't want to talk about it at this occasion..." with "occasion" meaning "the occasion of the wedding".

 

[jiamajia]

There is one possibility where "at this occasion" could be used. For example, if you're talking about a wedding being "a happy/joyous occasion".

Let's say the best man is making his speech and he starts talking about a time in the groom's childhood when he did something very embarrassing or stupid. He might get halfway through it and say

"Anyway, I don't want to talk about it at this occasion..." with "occasion" meaning "the occasion of the wedding".

How about during a meeting when someone tries to divert the agenda to an irrelevant topic? Can we use 'I don't want to talk about it at this occasion' in response?

 

[emsr2d2]

How about during a meeting when someone tries to divert the agenda to an irrelevant topic? Can we use 'I don't want to talk about it at this occasion' in response?

No. A business meeting doesn't really fall into the category of an "occasion" in that regard. The definition I was referring to in "a significant event" or a "large or important social gathering".

With your example, I would still say "I don't want to talk about that on this occasion". That suggests that this is not an appropriate time to speak about that topic, but it might be appropriate at another time/on another occasion.

 

[BobK]

No. A business meeting doesn't really fall into the category of an "occasion" in that regard. The definition I was referring to in "a significant event" or a "large or important social gathering".

...

:up: Earlier, ems2rd mentioned the terms 'happy occasion and 'joyous occasion', meaning 'wedding' (or large social event - but more often, ion my experience, wedding). Those two are strong collocations. It's strange that 'a happy occasion' is a wedding, while a 'happy event' is a birth. It would be embarrassing to congratulate the bride on 'this happy event' at her wedding. Another collocation comes to mind - 'the blushing bride' ;-)

b