Question posted by Mary Anne S. Fernandez in the Forum’s Facebook page (April 20, 2015):
Good evening, Sir. How are you doing?
Do we say “May I invite the speaker to please come up the stage to deliver his speech” or “May I invite the speaker to please come up on stage to deliver his speech?”
Thank you!
My reply to Mary Anne S. Fernandez:
Good evening, too, Mary Anne. I'm doing just fine.
The more idiomatic way to say it is the second sentence, “May I invite the speaker to come up on stage to deliver his speech?” However, it’s better to identify the speaker by name, say “Mr. Reyes” or by some specific appellation like “our guest of honor” or “guest speaker,” because calling him by the unspecific noun “speaker” creates the uncomfortable impression that he is already speaking and yet is still being invited to deliver his speech. Here's how that statement will sound when addressed to a specific person or appellation: “May I invite Mr. Reyes to come up on stage to deliver his speech?” “May I invite our guest of honor to come up on stage to deliver his speech?” They are much more cordial and pleasant to hear, aren't they?
P.S. Take note that “come onstage” is perfectly acceptable as well: “May I invite Mr. Reyes to come onstage to deliver his speech?” “May I invite our guest of honor to come onstage to deliver his speech?” (Here, “onstage” is an adverb modifying “come.”)
