Which one of the following sounds more natural?
- What is the right time for doing this?
- When is the right time for doing this?
It seems like these both mean the same thing. If they convey different meanings, what is the difference?
Learn English – “What/when is the right time for doing this?”
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Related Solutions
Formally, they are not the same. The first question is a yes/no question (“Would you mind?” “No, I wouldn’t.”) and the second question is an information question (“What do you mean?” “I mean what I say.”) In standard English, a yes/no question ends with a rising intonation and an informational question with a falling intonation, but there is considerable variation between and dialects.
Personally, when I say “What do you mean by that?”, I would end the word “that” with a rising intonation, to show I am asking for information but, for added emphasis, I might start the word “that” with the opposite intonation. So my voice would go up, and then down.
Similarly, in “Would you mind saying a little more about that?” I would end “that” with a rising intonation, because it is a yes/no question but, to add emphasis, I might start it with the opposite intonation. So my voice would go down, and then up.
As WS2 says, they both mean the same thing. In general, follow occurs more often with suggestion
That preference still applies in most contexts, but (probably influenced by the "idiomatic standard" take my advice) I note that follow/take your suggestion has recently shifted towards "take".
Non-native speakers should take my advice - treat follow/take as interchangeable, but go for a simpler verb form (I am going to follow your suggestion / I will take your advice / etc.)
Best Answer
Neither sounds natural to me, in the sense that I would say, and would expect to hear, slightly different versions. I'd expect to hear what time... or when should; for example:
Note, this is not to say the phrases in question do not occur; ngrams for What is the right time,When is the right time (or with lower-case w's) clearly shows that they do, with use of the When... form rising steadily since the 1970's. But as shown by ngrams for What is the right time,When is the right time,What time,When should (or with lower-case w's), use of “What time” and “When should” outstrips use of those phrases, perhaps beyond the level attributable to the inherent matching advantage of two-word phrases against five-word phrases.
Also, although I don't know where else it would fit, having “is the right time” plopped down between the first word and the final phrase in the question's examples seems ungainly.