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Does it make sense to say:

Please consider this email as a meantime brief report.

If yes, why? and if no, how can it be fixed?

Edit By the above sentence, I want to say that this email is not the main report but, in the meantime, I just want to update you about the status and I'll send you another email later.

Helium
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    What dictionary did you find listing meantime as an adjective? – tchrist Apr 09 '13 at 21:52
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    You know, above is also not an adjective. – tchrist Apr 09 '13 at 21:54
  • @tchrist: that's a great comment, but I heard it many many times. Are you too picky or is it really wrong? How should I fix it then? "By the sentence above ..." is OK? – Helium Apr 09 '13 at 22:02
  • @tchrist: You know better than the compilers at the AHD, Collins, Webster's, and, I'd guess, the OED, (re 'above') then? – Edwin Ashworth Apr 09 '13 at 22:06
  • There is a difference between standard written English and today use. You are welcome to document the heck out of all the today use you please, but if today use it not generally accepted in formal written English, then it isn’t. – tchrist Apr 09 '13 at 22:08
  • And you're the one to decide on that? I've used above as an adjective in the attributive position for many years, and the dictionaries cited don't label such usage as slang, colloquial, non-standard ... Websters even has a usage note: usage: A few critics object to the use of above as an adjective ('the above data') or as a noun (study the above) in referring to what has been mentioned earlier in a piece of writing. Both uses, however, have long been standard. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 09 '13 at 22:10
  • @EdwinAshworth: how about 'meantime'? – Mitch Apr 09 '13 at 23:26
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    Just move the word ahead: *Meanwhile (not meantime, though), please consider this email as a brief report.* – Kris Apr 10 '13 at 05:18
  • Undue down vote, unfair close vote. How should one know for sure? cf. http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/110920/using-meantime-as-an-adjective#comment225073_110920 – Kris Apr 10 '13 at 05:20
  • @EdwinAshworth Edwin, your points are well taken, but I might respectfully suggest they are not strengthened by ad hominem comments. Opinion is the life blood of this site. Each of us has a right to his or hers, no? – John M. Landsberg Apr 10 '13 at 05:58
  • I'm rather fond of "stop-gap" if I may add to RD's list.

    I also think Kris had a good notion to lead with "meanwhile".

    The bigger problem might be the odd invocation of subjectivity in "please consider". It is an interim report; that fact is not up for judgement by the recipient. I would write something to the effect of:

    "The main report is pending.* In the meantime, here's an update:"

    *Bonus points if you tell them by when they can expect the full report.

     – Tyler James Young Apr 10 '13 at 06:14
  • Dear everyone, let's stay on-topic. Whether or not above is an adjective, should be, and is, addressed in a separate question. Feel free to comment on that one, but I will be purging the comments here shortly. – RegDwigнt Apr 10 '13 at 09:15
  • @John M. Landsberg: 'Opinion is the life blood of this site. Each of us has a right to his or hers, no?' It is my opinion that, when opinions are contrary to those held by at least some authoritative bodies, it is - I'll say unhelpful - to state them as fact and without any references. The other thread conveys the correct tone. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 10 '13 at 10:19
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    @Mitch: I'm sorry - I've been trying to firm up this comment. At http://personal.stevens.edu/~ysakamot/creativity/carin%20dual.pdf Christina L. Gagne avers: 'An interesting feature of the English language is that any noun can be used as an adjective.' Since 'meantime' is listed as a noun (AHD, Collins etc), if Gagne is correct (and 'noun modifiers' are certainly extremely common), then this usage is 'licensed'. I'd say this wouldn't convert it to an adjective. And I wouldn't use it myself. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 10 '13 at 11:41
  • While we're in this area, the word hitherto is licensed by the OED as an attributive adjective ( http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=23716&p=84187&hilit=adjective#p84187 ). Again, that doesn't mean I'd ever use it thus. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 10 '13 at 13:28

2 Answers2

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You are looking for interim, preliminary, draft, or progress. (Watch the adjective order, they go after brief.) You are not looking for meanwhile, which is not an adjective, as a dictionary of your choice will be quick to point out.

Community
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RegDwigнt
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"Meantime" is a noun and an adverb, not an adjective.

As I do not understand the true meaning you are attempting to convey, I cannot provide advice on how to correct your statement.

4rkain3
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