Until now/up until now

[Drizzlehead]

Hello everyone.

Basically, I know what these words mean, "until now" and "up until now" but I have got a question: what tense do we usually use with those 2?

For example, when I want to say that I hadn't known about something before someone told me about it. Should it be:

"I have had no idea about it until now" (now I know of course) or "I had no idea about it until now" (now I know)?

Please, help.

 

[You little ripper!]

Hello everyone.

Basically, I know what these words mean, "until now" and "up until now" but I have got a question: what tense do we usually use with those 2?

For example, when I want to say that I hadn't known about something before someone told me about it. Should it be:

"I have had no idea about it until now" (now I know of course) or "I had no idea about it until now" (now I know)?

Please, help.

Hi Drizzlehead,

It is better to say, I had no idea about it until now.

 

[la grive solitaire]

Hi Drizzlehead, and welcome.

I had no idea of it before now/until now. (I didn't know before and now I know).

In more informal English (AE), Id say: I didn't know anything about it until now/before now.

 

[Drizzlehead]

Thank you ever so much guys.

btw, we use "until now" with Present Perfect only when "until now" means something similar to "so far", right?

 

[maxiogee]

I feel there might be a continuity about "until now" with is ended with something happening, which turns it into an "up until now".

I have thirty years of accident-free driving until now = I still haven't had an accident.
I had thirty years of accident-free driving up until now = I have just had an accident.

 

[panjandrum]

To my mind until now is quite distinct from so far.

With until now, usually something has happened so that the now and the past are not the same.
I didn't know, until now, that marquee has different meanings in AE and BE.

With so far, nothing has changed.
I have been hoping for a big lottery win, but so far I've won nothing.

I can't comment on the use of until now with present perfect, because I can't think of an example

Edit: Well would you look at that. Maxiogee has provided an example just while I was scratching my head and thinking there couldn't be any. I'll have to have another think

 

[maxiogee]

The purpose of my life - up until now - panjandrum, has been unknown to me. Now it is obvious that I have been, until now, learning things with which to irritate you slightly.

 

[Peter_Gabriel]

To my mind until now is quite distinct from so far.

With until now, usually something has happened so that the now and the past are not the same.
I didn't know, until now, that marquee has different meanings in AE and BE.

With so far, nothing has changed.
I have been hoping for a big lottery win, but so far I've won nothing.

I can't comment on the use of until now with present perfect, because I can't think of an example

Edit: Well would you look at that. Maxiogee has provided an example just while I was scratching my head and thinking there couldn't be any. I'll have to have another think

BTW, does the following sentence mean this person has stopped living at home?
"I've lived at home up till now"