by now
you use this to say that something should have happened already or is likely true at this moment.
“The mail should arrive by now.”
“She probably knows the secret by now.”
“You should be a pro at this game by now.”
“He usually wakes up by now on a Saturday morning.”
“I expected them to be here by now, but the heavy traffic must have delayed their arrival.”
“If you started the laundry an hour ago, the clothes should be dry by now.”
“Most people have finished their lunch by now, so the restaurant is much quieter.”
“The store usually sends a confirmation email within minutes, so you really ought to check your spam folder by now.”
“Given the urgency of the situation, the authorities should have reached a definitive conclusion by now, yet the investigation continues without any clear resolution.”
From the preposition *by*, in the sense of occurring not later than a specified time or before the end of a given interval, combined with the adverb *now*. The construction follows the standard English pattern for establishing a temporal limit relative to the present moment.
Last updated April 22, 2026