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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Various Tenses - Until Now

A. I never feel so alone until now.

B. I have never felt so alone until now.

C. I never felt so alone until now.

D. I had never felt so alone until now.

1. Which of the sentences above are possible?
2. If two or more are possible, how are they different in meaning or as to time?
3. If 'until' above means 'continuing up to now' instead of the action 'ceasing from now', which verb tense is correct? Simple present or present perfect?
  

Top answer

Hi, A. I never feel so alone until now. Simple Present is not correct for 'the past until now'.

— Clive

  • Hi, A.
  • I never feel so alone until now.
  • Simple Present is not correct for 'the past until now'.
  • B.
  • I have never felt so alone until now.
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22 Answers
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Hi,

A. I never feel so alone until now. Simple Present is not correct for 'the past until now'.

B. I have never felt so alone until now. Fine. Not in the entire period of the past.
C. I never felt so alone until now. Sometime s said, but B is much better. Simple Past focuses more on 'not on any specific occasion in the past'.
D.
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Hi Clive,

I can see now the difference. Thank you for your explanations.
Sorry for my confusing question, just disregard #3.

Could 'until now' mean 'so far' in the given sentences? If so, would it change the correct tense of the verb? Because I believe 'until now' in your explanation means 'until just now'.
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Hi again,

Could 'until now' mean 'so far' in the given sentences? Not really. I wouldn't interpret it that way.

If so, would it change the correct tense of the verb?

Because I believe 'until now' in your explanation means 'until just now'. Yes, although there's not really much difference.



Clive
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CliveD. I had never felt so alone until now. Past Perfect does not work well here. It means 'not until I saw you two seconds (or two years) ago. In other words, it doesn't work with 'until now'.
Hi,
I know I'm always singing the same tired old song about context, but I have no problem with this. It would seem qui
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Thank you, Avangi, I can see your point how the past and the present tense can be defined by the context.

Thank you, Clive, for answering my follow-up questions.

Instead of 'until now', let's change the phrase to 'until today'. I believe the present perfect is still the best choice of tense here because 'until today' could also mean 'two seconds ago', so past perfect doesn't wo
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Hi,

Instead of 'until now', let's change the phrase to 'until today'. I believe the present perfect is still the best choice of tense here because 'until today' could also mean 'two seconds ago', so past perfect doesn't work well here? True. However, if it says 'until earlier today', then only the past perfect is the correct tense?

I have never felt
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Hi Clive,

Thanks again for your explanations.
CliveI believe the present perfect is still the best choice of tense here because 'until today' could also mean 'two seconds ago', so past perfect doesn't work well here? True.
CliveI have never felt so alone until today. (Not in the
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Hi,

When I said 'True', I was focusing more on ". . . so past perfect doesn't work well here?"

Clive
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I'm sorry, I'm confused. If the past perfect doesn't work well with 'until today' and 'I have never felt so alone until today' doesn't sound quite right, then which verb tense makes the sentence sound right?
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Hi Anon:

I agree with Clive. Read his answers carefully.
The best choice of tense will depend on the context and what you are trying to emphasize.

Regards,
A-
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