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Kooyeen Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

By now

0 Hi, 02br
00could someone explain how to use "by now"? I'm not sure it's the same as "ormai" (Italian), because I'm not even sure there is something like "ormai" in English (which would be a pity, it's a useful word).02br
00I'll suppose "by now" means "ormai"... would these sentences be ok?02br
02br
01b00That antidote is no use by now. The poison is already reaching his brain.02br
00You can't apply for that job by now. It's too late.02br
00You can't apply for that job anymore. It's too late by now.02br
00You can't apply for that job anymore by now. It's too late by now.02br
00...etc.02br
02b02br
00Thank you 050010id1
  

Top answer

0I don't know what ormai means but it doesn't seem to be quite the same thing, sorry. 02br 02br 00That antidote is no use 01del 00by02del 00 now. 02br 00You can't apply for that job 01del 00by02del 00 now.

— Nona the brit

  • 0I don't know what ormai means but it doesn't seem to be quite the same thing, sorry.
  • 02br 02br 00That antidote is no use 01del 00by02del 00 now.
  • 02br 00You can't apply for that job 01del 00by02del 00 now.
  • 02br 00You can't apply for that job anymore.
  • It's too late.
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18 Answers
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0I don't know what ormai means but it doesn't seem to be quite the same thing, sorry. 'By know' doesn't work in your examples.02br
02br
00That antidote is no use 01del00by02del00 now. The poison is already reaching his brain.02br
00You can't apply for that job 01del00by02del00 now. It's too late.02br
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0I think it generally goes with the perfect tenses, doesn't it?02br
02br
00PS: What's the difference between 01b00by now02b00 and 01b00until now02b00 or 01b00up to/till now02b00?0-
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0Here's my take:02br
02br
00I think 'by now' implies there's a time or target or expectation to meet. 02br
02br
00Amy's example is a good one that shows he missed the train (which is his target). Another example is 'He should have finished his homework by now because it's due in 15 mins'.02br
02br
00While 'until now' just focusses on th
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0 There may be some overlap with 01i00ormai02i00, but I don't think they are exact equivalents. Judge for yourself by reading the examples below, inspired by my Internet search. Note that the verbs01i00 know, learn, 02i00and01i00 finish02i00 are common with 01i00by now02i00. Note that the modal 01
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0 This is a good definition, IMO:02br
02br
05002br
0250hrefhttp://encarta.msn.com/by+now.html
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0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10There may be some overlap with 11i10ormai12i10, but I don't think they are exact equivalents. Judge for yourself12blockquote
10I see it's similar, but not the same. I see that when "by now" doesn't work, I should use "now" (see Nona's examples). Those are the ways to tr
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0 ... and thank you, too, Kooyeen ... I never knew how to translate "01i00ormai02i00," and especially how to carry its idea of regret (as in 01i00'è troppo tardi, ormai' = 'it's too late02i00,' without an equivalent of "ormai"!) and now I understand there's simply no hope 050010id1
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0 01b00by now02b00 = to this moment02br
02br
00Johnny has been learning his ABC for a month. By now (a month later), he should be able to recite them from heart. 02br
02br
00Personally, I would avoid "by now".02br
00That antidote has lost its effectiveness because the poison has spreaded to his brain.02br
00Yo
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Jay8012cite11b10by now12b10 = to this moment12br
12br
10Johnny has been learning his ABC for a month. By now (a month later), he should be able to recite them from heart. 12br
12br
10Personally, I would avoid "by now".12br
11b10That antidote has lost it
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Yoong Liat12cite10...has 11b10spreaded 12b10to his brain. (11i10Shouldn't it be 'spread'12i10?)12br
12blockquote
10Yeah, I guess it should, Yoong. It's "spread - spread - spread" (base form - past tense - past participle) 050010id1
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