[Vocabulary] Earliest

[Jiayun]

A: When did you get back to office today?
B: I arrived at office at 8 a.m. today.
A: Amazing, are you the earliest staff going back to office today?

I have 2 questions regarding the above conversation:-

1. Is it correct for A to say "get back to office" if A was not in the office when she asked that question?
2. Should the word "earliest" be used in the above question raised by A?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I would simply say 'were you the first to arrive at the office?'.

Not a teacher.

 

[Jiayun]

Could I say "Were you among the first who arrived at the office today?"?

I would simply say 'were you the first to arrive at the office?'.

Not a teacher.

 

[lotus888]

A: When did you come to the office today?
B: I arrived at the office at 8 a.m. this morning.
A: Amazing, were you the first to arrive at the office? (per Matthew Wai)



--lotus

 

[Matthew Wai]

"Were you among the first who arrived at the office today?"

May I say 'Were you among the people who first arrived at the office today' instead?

Not a teacher.

 

[Jiayun]

I have a feeling that if you say "come to the office" it means that you are in the office when you say those words. Would it be better to say "go to the office" if you are not in the office at that time?

A: When did you come to the office today?
B: I arrived at the office at 8 a.m. this morning.
A: Amazing, were you the first to arrive at the office? (per Matthew Wai)



--lotus

 

[Matthew Wai]

"go to the office"

I take it to mean 'head for the office' rather than 'arrive at the office', am I wrong?

Not a teacher.

 

[Barb_D]

Ifyou say "what time did you come?" it means "what time did you arrive?"

Matthew, you can ask the question that way but it is entirely unnatural. A native speaker would probably say, "Wow! You must've been one of the first people to get here today!" Or to keep it as a question, "Were you one of the first people to get here today?"

Is 8 AM really so early that it's amazing? It's the start of the workday here. 5 AM would be amazing.

 

[lotus888]

I have a feeling that if you say "come to the office" it means that you are in the office when you say those words. Would it be better to say "go to the office" if you are not in the office at that time?

If you wanted to be more precise when you're not at the office, you might ask "When did you get to the office today"?


--lotus