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I am joining a team and just as I join, I say this sentence. Is the "now" correct in the end of the sentence or how to make the sentence more fluent?

I am glad to be part of this family now.

I want to say that I am glad to join the team (family). But if I just say that "I am glad to be part of this family." (without the "now") , it kind of means that I have been part of that family for a long time.

This question may seem confusing, but feel free to ask answers, to improve the quality of this question.

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General reference. Attaching "now" to any statement simply implies that - for whatever reason - the statement would not have been true in the past. Perhaps you've been in the family/team for a long time, but have only recently become glad of that fact. But this certainly doesn't mean that any statement not including the word implies "long-standing truth". – FumbleFingers Jun 16 '12 at 13:49

2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

The problem with now on the end is that it's slightly ambiguous:

  • Now I'm glad to be part of this family
  • I'm now glad to be part of this family
  • I'm glad to now be part of this family
  • I'm glad to be part of this family now

The second one clearly indicates that it's your gladness that is new and current. Perhaps something about the family changed. The third one indicates that it's being part of the family that is new and current. The first and last are possibly ambiguous, but people are more likely to give them the same meaning as the ones they are next to in the list. When you say this out loud, the more emphatically you say now, the more you move the meaning to the second one - that something about being part of this family has changed so that now you like it when before you didn't.

If you are worried that people will misunderstand you, just say

  • I am glad to have joined this family

and all the ambiguity falls away.

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You're right about #2 making it sound like the family has changed. As I read the question, the O.P. wants to indicate that he's pleased to now be "on board" (much like a new hire might say on his first day on the job). I thought his proposed sentence (and your #4) did a good job of saying that in a rather natural way (inside of that context, of course). The now is not necessary, but I wouldn't find it confusing, either. – J.R. Jun 16 '12 at 16:22
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I would omit the word "now" altogether. It doesn't indicate or emphasize anything of significance, therefore I perceive it as superfluous. This answer is pretty good, though, in that it explains how location changes the perception, and that the manner in which perception is changed can be somewhat vague as well. In general, I'd probably avoid such a pitfall whenever possible. – shinyspoongod Jun 17 '12 at 4:16
i agree with shinysponged. – woodykiddy Jun 17 '12 at 15:47
up vote 0 down vote

You've summed it up well in your bold print. Adding the now gives the slight implication that you are a new member of the family, and glad to be part of it.

EDIT: I'm not sure why this answer got downvoted, but I still maintain this is a perfectly normal way to express this sentiment. But don't take my work for it, just click here.

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