商務英語寫作指南：用錯untilnow意思南轅北轍

until now在寫作中很常見，比如：直到剛才我還沒收到你的郵件。這句話到底是想說我現(xiàn)在收到了你的郵件了呢?還是想說，我到現(xiàn)在還沒收到你的郵件?是不是已經(jīng)蒙了?今天告訴你正確的、地道的until now的用法，下次再也不會詞不達意了。

The phrase “until now” is often used incorrectly. This can result in a sentence having the opposite meaning to the one intended.

詞組“直到剛才”經(jīng)常被誤用，而誤用的結(jié)果就是句意可能與寫作人想表達的原意完全相反。

Consider the following sentence:Until now, the above documents and information have not been provided by the Banks.

來看看這句句子：直到剛才，銀行還沒有提供上述的文件和信息?？忌绻伦约哄e過考試報名時間和考試時間的話，可以 免費預約短信提醒，屆時會以短信的方式提醒大家報名和考試時間。

What does the writer mean? Have the Banks provided the documents and information or not?

作者的意思是什么?銀行到底有沒有提供文件和信息?

A native English speaker would be likely to say yes. But the writer intended to say that they have not.

母語為英語的人的回答是肯定的(即文件和信息已提交)，而作者實際上想要表達的是否定的意思(即文件和信息還未提交)。

In English the phrase “until now” is used to refer to a change of circumstances where the change happens now.

在英語中，詞組“直到剛才”用來指在剛才那個時刻事情已經(jīng)發(fā)生了變化。

E.g. Until now I have never eaten sushi.

例句：直到剛才，我還從來沒吃過壽司。

This means that it is the first time the speaker has eaten sushi. Until the present moment the speaker never ate sushi. NOW the speaker is eating sushi.

這句話的意思是這是說話者第一次吃壽司。在說這句話之前，說話者從來沒有吃過?，F(xiàn)在說話者正在吃壽司。

So, if we apply this understanding of “until now” to the first example, it means that until the present moment the Banks have not provided the documents and information. NOW (or in the very recent past) they have provided them.That is how a native English speaker would understand the sentence.

那么，讓我們把這個含義用到第一個例子中去，這句話的意思就是：直到剛才，銀行還沒有提供文件和信息。但是，剛才(或者比這早一些時候)，銀行已經(jīng)提交了。英語為母語的人就是這么理解“直到剛才”的意思的。

Instead of “until now”, in this sentence the writer should have used the phrases “to date”, “as yet” or “so far”. They all have the same meaning. “To date” is formal; “so far” informal.

如果要表示否定的意思，就不應該用“until now”，可以用“to date”，“as yet”，或者“so far”，上述詞組都表示目前為止的意思，“to date”是正式用法，“so far”是非正式用法。

To date, the above documents and information have not been provided by the Banks.

例句：目前為止，銀行還沒有把上述文件和信息提交過來。

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