In an article I want to say:
At the present time, there are web data extraction
systems that provide an interactive graphical users interfaces(GUI)
for the user to define and execute a wrapper.
However, I am afraid it is not natural or formal, I think of some other phrases like
- Currently
- Today
- Nowadays
- …
What is the best word to fit my sentence? Can I use "currently"?
Best Answer
All of these express the same sense of "nowness", but there are slight differences between the contexts in which they are typically used.
Today, now and nowadays tend to suggest that what is true now was not true in the past.
Currently and at present tend to suggest that what is true now may not be true in the future.
Nowadays is colloquial, unlikely to be used in formal writing.
At the present time is formal to the point of pomposity; I cannot conceive of any context in which at the present time should be preferred to one of the other expressions.
If you do not intend to express a contrast between the present and either the past or the future, there is no need to use any of these; the present-tense expresses "nowness" all by itself.