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.