Gu Gu
What is the difference between "till now" and "so far"? When I write an article, I like to use "till now" more than "so far". When an English friend corrected my article, she change "Till now, I've practised 3 times" to "So far, I've practised 3 times". I want to know what's the difference.
Jul 10, 2017 2:16 PM
Answers · 4
2
"till now" and "so far" The two phrases overlap in meaning, but they also have a different usage. "until now" (more natural than "till now" in my opinion) is more general in meaning. You can use it for pretty much anything that happened in your life. For example, you might say "I've never thought about it that way until now", "I've never tasted this kind of food until now". "so far" seems more specific and purposeful. It works better with something you started at some point with a purpose. So if you've joined a new company, you might say "So far, things are going well at work". With your new boyfriend, "So far, so good", etc. Your sentence "Till now, I've practised 3 times" is also specific to whatever you're practicing. So "so far" is better in my opinion.
July 10, 2017
1
I'll also add that 'until now' is usually used to mean that something was a certain way until this point in time, but now it is different. Example: I had never eaten mapo doufu until now. This means "Before this point in time, I did not eat mapo dofu, but now I am eating it."
July 10, 2017
To me, 'Till' is incorrectly spelled slang and is not a good choice to use in a written sentence unless you are quoting someone's speech or you are a poet/artist and purposefully using ( 'til ) to make a point. Utilizing the full word ''until now' could be used interchangeably with 'so far' easily.
July 10, 2017
"till now" is a shortened form of "until now", mostly used while speaking. As far as I know there is no difference in meaning, but so far reads a lot better in a written text.
July 10, 2017
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