Liveinjapan  +  372497 Wed, 30 May 07 11:09 AM Hi, everyone. Business conversation on the phone: Can I speak with Mr. Cruise? I'm sorry. He's not in. He's not in only means He's out of the office? That doesn't mean He's not at his desk at the moment but he's in somewhere in the office, right? Thanks. LiJ Liveinjapan Joined on Sun, Feb 4 2007 Osaka, Japan Senior Member 2,280 Please feel free to correct any words I wrote.LiJ Conversations

	khoff  +  372627 Wed, 30 May 07 03:52 PM That doesn't mean He's not at his desk at the moment but he's in somewhere in the office, right?  The usual way to give this meaning would be "He's away from his desk right now." (Be aware that in the real world, a secretary might be instructed to say "He's not in" if the person is right there but does not want to speak to the caller.) khoff Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005 Senior Member 3,278 Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert)

	Clive  +  372686 Wed, 30 May 07 06:19 PM Hi, You could also, of course, say 'He's out (of the office)'. Clive'. Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,679 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	New2grammar  +  372842 Thu, 31 May 07 02:04 AM This is interesting to me. Let's say the callee says: He is not here.  => means the callee looked around and he didn't see him there. He could still be in the office but not anywhere visible to the callee. He just walked away => means he just walked away from his desk. He could be somewhere in the office or out of the office. He just walked out/ He is not in / He is out => means he is out of the office but he is not on leave. He has not come in => means he is late for work He is on leave => means he won't come in at all Please correct me if I am wrong. New2grammar Joined on Tue, Nov 21 2006 Veteran Member 7,676 Who wants to go sailing around the world with me?

	Clive  +  372860 Thu, 31 May 07 03:46 AM Hi, A couple of comments. He has not come in => means he is late for work  No, this sounds like you don't thik he is gouing to come in today at all. He has not come in yet sounds like he will come in soon. He is on leave => means he won't come in at all I've noticed on the Forum that people from some cultures often speak of someone being 'on leave'. This is not a common expression in N.American culture. I don't remember in my life ever saying that I was 'on leave'. You might say something like 'He's on vacation', if that's what you mean. Best wishes, Clive Clive

	khoff  +  372864 Thu, 31 May 07 03:55 AM Well, at one time I was "on maternity leave," but I guess you never were, Clive!  You might say someone is "on sick leave" if they are planning to be away for a lengthy illness, perhaps not even receiving any salary, but the company is holding their job available for their return.  Or someone who has been removed from their job pending investigation of possible wrongdoing might be on "administrative leave"  while the company decides if they should be fired or not. (I don't know why it's called that.) But if you just go away for your annual two weeks' vacation, you're on vacation, not on leave. khoff

	Clive  +  372869 Thu, 31 May 07 04:13 AM Hi, Point taken.  You can see I've never been pregnant. Howver, in the places I've worked, people have always been circumspect about giving out personal information about reasons for absence. eg We've never said He's in jail for six months or He's in rehab for his drinking problems. Even someone's recent giving birth was usually treated as her business rather than the caller's business. Anyway, the expression 'he/she's on leave' still sounds unlikely to me. Best wishes, Clive  Clive