"you are not here" vs "where are you"

Question

"you are not here" vs "where are you"

The two phrases are not directly comparable as they convey different meanings. 'Where are you' is a question asking for someone's location, while 'you are not here' is a statement indicating that the person is not present in the current location. Both phrases are correct in their respective contexts.

Last Updated: March 22, 2024

This phrase is used to inform someone that the person being addressed is not present in the immediate vicinity.

Examples:

I thought you were coming, but you are not here.
You are not here, so I will leave a message for you.
You are not here right now, where did you go?
You are not here, did you step out?
You are not here, are you running late?

Ask "Where are you?" when you would like to know where someone is located.

Explanation provided by a TextRanch English expert

Some examples from our editors:

Where are you? I can't find you in this huge crowd.
Where are you? You're really late to this meeting.
Where are you? Since you haven't come in to work, and you haven't called out, we're all really worried about you.

Answer 1

you are not here

This phrase is correct and can be used to indicate that someone is absent from the current location.

Answer 2

where are you

This is correct

"you are not here" vs "where are you"

you are not here

where are you

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