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I have a little semantic challenge - I would like to state that something has been and still is happening (up to the present moment) in a certain way, but may soon end / change. In principle, this is not an obstacle in an out-of-context situation, however, my problem is that I am making a translation (from a synthetic language into English) and have to "stick" to the original sentence structure, which is:

This is A, functioning as of present by means of B. Due to sth, A will soon be renovated...

My question is whether the adverb "as of present" incorporates the meaning that I would like to achieve - both of nowness and of expected recent change. In the original language this sense is achieved through an adverb in the instrumental case and for this reason "presently", "currently", "now", etc. are not appropriate translations (since they carry locative meaning).

PS My main concern is that "as of present" may be misinterpreted as "from the present moment onward", similarly to "as of now" / "as of this moment" - quite the opposite of what I wish to imply.

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  • Can't it be till now, till the present time/moment? Apr 24, 2017 at 13:01
  • It's as at present - the way things are now (and probably have been for quite some time in the past). As of now means starting from now (i.e. - whatever is being referred to didn't exist or wasn't true before now). Apr 24, 2017 at 13:14
  • I'd say "functioning at the present time"
    – Xanne
    Apr 25, 2017 at 0:51
  • @FumbleFingers "As of" does mean also "so far" - As of now, three bodies have been found. And according to Longman dictionary, it can also mean "on a particular date or time" ("as at" in BrE).
    – John V
    Oct 7, 2019 at 14:42
  • @JohnV: I don't think it's reasonable to say as of means so far. If it's followed by now (or any other explicitly specified "point" in time) it means from [some specified time] onwards (by implication, not previously, whereas so far implies previously AND now). And don't forget as [of] yet, which I'd say is a "negative polarity" item, in that it nearly always occurs in negating contexts (something has not happened as [of] yet).* Oct 7, 2019 at 15:41

1 Answer 1

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As of/from means: ​

starting from a particular time or date: - As of next month, all the airline's fares will be going up.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

"As of present" will convey the same idea as "as of now" so it will not suit your purpose.

You may use the different tense:

  • This is A, which has been functioning by means of B. Due to sth, A will soon be removed.

Actually usage may be tricky as suggested in the following post from M-W about the meaning of as of today:

The different meanings of as of today:

1) As of today can mean “from the beginning up until now, including today,” as in this example: - As of today, only three survivors have been found.

This meaning is close to the meaning of the expression so far.

2) On the other hand, it can also mean “starting today and going forward into the future,” as in this example: - As of today, all passengers must check their luggage before boarding the plane.

This meaning is close to the meaning of the expression going forward.

3) As of today even has a third meaning, which is less common than the other two. It can mean “today, only” with the implication that things are likely to change.

How to tell:

If you’re wondering how to tell which meaning applies in a particular case, the best way to tell is by looking for context clues, especially in the verb tenses. In the examples below, the clues are described in parentheses.

  • As of today, Ron Paul has won 18 delegates nationally, compared with 105 for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. (The present perfect verb – has won – tells you that this started in the past. As of today = so far.)
  • We as of today have not found out what happened to Jennifer. (The present perfect verb – have not found out –tells you that this started in the past. As of today = so far.)
  • As of today, no late homework is going to be accepted. (The future verb – is going to – tells you this is about the future. As of today = going forward.)
  • As of today, the members of the European Union are as follows: 1) Germany, 2) Austria, 3) United Kingdom, 4) Belgium, 5) Bulgaria, 6) The Czech Republic, 7) Denmark, 8) Estonia, 9) Finland, 10) France, …. (The present tense verb – is – tells you that this is about today, only.)

As you can see from these examples, the verb tense is usually a good clue. But when in doubt, think about what’s most logical.

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  • What does "here is where we are as of present" mean then? I'm confused. Apr 24, 2017 at 12:55

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