By now
"The dishes should be cleaned by now, why haven't you done it yet?"
"The dishes should have been cleaned by now, why haven'y you done it yet?"
Which one is correct, and what does "by now" mean? Does it mean "before now", or does it mean "dishes cleaned" should be true in the present moment?
Top answer
The punctuation is wrong in both sentences (two thoughts are not jointed by a comma. Either use a semi-colon or break it into two sentences by replacing the comma with a period). However, that aside, the second one is worded correctly.
- The punctuation is wrong in both sentences (two thoughts are not jointed by a comma.
- Either use a semi-colon or break it into two sentences by replacing the comma with a period).
- However, that aside, the second one is worded correctly.
- "By now" means that the speaker reasonably expected to see clean dishes at that present moment.
- The trouble with "before now" is that it is not clear how much before now the job should have been done.
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The punctuation is wrong in both sentences (two thoughts are not jointed by a comma. Either use a semi-colon or break it into two sentences by replacing the comma with a period).
However, that aside, the second one is worded correctly. "By now" means that the speaker reasonably expected to see clean dishes at that present moment. The trouble with "before now" is that it is not clear h
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