When Is Currently Needed?

Is Currently Redundant?

When is currently needed—almost never, and yet I hear it used frequently. Some of the worst misuse can be found on answering machines and voicemails.

• I’m currently away from my desk.

Or even worse,

• I’m currently away from my desk “right now.”

The business world is rife with the misuse.

• He’s currently working on . . .
• The company is currently developing a new device.

Even the dictionaries use what I think of as bad examples.

Here is the definition from Merriam-Webster’s:

: at the present time; currently engaged in scientific research, the movie currently running at the local theater She currently lives in Texas. a product that is not currently available
Similar legislation is currently working successfully in 17 other states as well as in the nation’s capital. —Tom Bourdon
Currently, only three such drugs are approved for use in the U.S. … . —Michael Waldholz

Analyze a few of the examples above, then look at the one below by dictionary.com.

• She is currently working as a lab technician.

And from Merriam-Webster (above).

• She currently lives in Texas.

Wouldn’t ‘she lives in Texas’ suffice? If she lives in Texas, it is current; she’s living there now.

And if she’s working as a lab technician, it is current; otherwise, we’d say she used to work as a lab technician or she worked as a lab technician.

When Is Currently Needed?

Almost never. In fact, many people—writers included—may go through life without having to use it. Look at a few sample sentences below.

• I’m currently away from my desk.
• They are currently on the way to Detroit.
• He is currently on vacation.

Now look at them without currently.

• I’m away from my desk.
• They are on the way to Detroit.
• He is on vacation.

The only difference in those sentences is you saved words, which is a good thing.

When you use currently, you’re likely using a present-tense verb like am or are. And if you’re using a present-tense verb, that verb is already signaling us that the action is taking place now or currently, which makes the question “is currently redundant?” definitely true.

Is Currently Ever Needed?

If you are mentioning a different time frame in the same sentence, it is still often not needed but acceptable. A few examples follow:

• I used to live in New York, but I currently live in Chicago.
• I currently live in New York, but I’ll be moving to Chicago next month.

As you can see, in both instances, another time frame is mentioned. In the first one, it’s a general time, “used to,” and in the second case, it’s specific, “next month.” You could still easily avoid using currently, but it sounds okay to use it as is, or to substitute the word now.

• I used to live in New York, but I now live in Chicago. (using now)
• I live in New York, but I’ll be moving to Chicago next month. (without now)

In the second sentence, you could use now or currently, or you could choose to not use either.

In the first sentence, something is needed. You could use currently or now, but the sentence structure calls for something. You could also re-arrange the sentence:

• Before I moved to Chicago, I lived in New York.

I don’t want it to seem as if I have a vendetta against currently. I don’t. I simply want to show that it’s seldom needed. There are a few instances when you could use currently, or now but there are other options as well.

Summary of When Is Currently Needed

You wouldn’t say “I was doing laundry in the past.”

Just like you shouldn’t say “I am currently doing laundry.”

Let the verb speak for itself. It doesn’t need clarifying.

For more grammar tips, sign up for the mailing list and/or pick up the grammar book/s of your choice. You can read more about redundancies here.

There are thirty No Mistakes Grammar Bites books, and five No Mistakes Grammar books, though number four (Visual Grammar) contains volumes I—III, so you’d be better off buying number IV; it’ll save you money and give you more information. There is also Simply Put: The Plain English Grammar Guide, which covers almost everything you need for everyday grammar in addition to many issues covered in style guides.

There are also five grammar books for kids.

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Giacomo Giammatteo is the author of gritty crime dramas about murder, mystery, and family. And he also writes nonfiction books, including Simply Put: The Plain English Grammar Guide and the No Mistakes Careers series as well as other books on grammar, fantasy, publishing, writing, and children’s fiction and nonfiction.

When Giacomo isn’t writing, he’s helping his wife take care of the animals on their sanctuary. At last count, they had forty animals—seven dogs, one horse, six cats, and twenty-five pigs.

Oh, and one crazy—and very large—wild boar, who used to take walks with Giacomo every day.
He lives in Texas, where he and his wife have an animal sanctuary with forty loving “friends.”