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Wowenglish Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

By now

I would like to know the difference between "1" and "2".
1. He should be home by now.
2. He should have been home by now.
  

Top answer

Wowenglish 1. He should be home by now. 2.

— CalifJim

  • Wowenglish 1.
  • He should be home by now.
  • 2.
  • He should have been home by now.
  • There is not a lot of difference between these.
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3 Answers
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Wowenglish1. He should be home by now.
2. He should have been home by now.
There is not a lot of difference between these. Both are comparing an actual arrival time to an expected arrival time.

1. The comparison is made to the present moment, exactly.
2. The comparison is made to any time in the past up to and including the present moment.
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1. You believe he is home.

2. He is not home.

1.

A: Let's ask Peter his opinion.

B: Okay, I have his office number here.

A: No, call him at home. It's already 7 pm where he lives. He should be home by now.

2.

Oh dear. Where is your fathter? He should be home by now! The roads are icy, traffic is terrible. I'm so worried.

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Oh my, this is confusing. Either my native language is influencing me, or maybe... I'm right? I see a big difference:

He should be home by now = He should have gotten home, I think so, so he should be at home now.

He should have been home by now = He should have gotten home already, but he hasn't yet. (Some people would worry)

What do you guys say?
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