So far vs till now

[Lavanyah]

hi,

Can anyone help me giving the difference between 'till now' and 'so far'? what is the correct usage between the two?

Thanks

[Alan]

Hi Lavanyah,

Thanks for posting your question here. Till now is used mainly for time in the sense of up to this time/now as in:

We have managed to pay our bills till now but as costs are rising we are now finding it difficult.

So far is used mainly for space/direction rather than time as in the sense of up to this stage/point as in:

They had climbed so far up the mountainside that they decided to go on to the top.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A funny thing happened...

[Lavanyah]

Thanks Alan, that was very useful.