eslHQ Home
User Name Password
Lost Password? | Join eslHQ.com, it's FREE!
View today's posts
Search Extras Help   

Reply
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Unread May 20th, 2012, 06:21 am
eslHQ Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Apr 28th, 2012
Posts: 36
InJen is on a distinguished road
Default as of & from

The railway network of France, which as of 2008 stretches 29,473 kilometres.

can I simply use from to replace as of?

I often see AS OF in(or on?) wikipedia, but is there any difference between it and FROM?
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Unread May 21st, 2012, 05:03 am
Sue
 
Join Date: Oct 8th, 2006
Location: Milan
Posts: 1,406
susan53 is on a distinguished road
Default Re: as of & from

No difference as far as I can see if you are referring to dates which are still future at the time of writing/speaking - eg
The law takes effect as of tomorrow / The law takes effect from tomorrow
The other possibility is as from.
The law takes effect as from tomorrow.

The same is true if the event is completely past :
The law took effect as of January 1st, but was revoked three months later. / The law took effect from January 1st, but was revoked three months later.
The other possibility is as from.
The law took effect as from January 1st, but was revoked three months later.

The problem occurs when the event started in the past but is still true in the present - as in your sentence. Now from would have to be replaced by since, and a perfect verb used, though as of/from plus the present sounds just about possible - though, as in your sentence a bit odd. So :

1) ?? As of last week, I'm working at home
2) ?? As from last week, I'm working at home
3)* From last week I'm working at home
4) Since last week I've been working at home.

If you check with a concordancer, you'll find plenty of examples of the patterns in 1/2 and 4, but not of 3. So, adding in a couple of lexical changes which I think also improve it, your sentence could be...

A) The railway network of France, which as of 2008 totals 29,473 kilometres in length, is...
B) The railway network of France, which since 2008 has totalled 29,473 kilometres in length, is..
C)The railway network of France, which since 2008 totals 29,473 kilometres in length, is..


B and C both sound a bit odd to me though - in this context I want a simple verb, expressing a permanent fact rather than the perfect which just talks about past to present. But the simple verb in C sounds odd with since. But then, so does as of, even though it seems just acceptable.

Personally I'd rewrite the whole thing :
In 2008, the French rail network reached its current extent of 29,473 kilometres in length...
__________________
An ELT Notebook
The DELTA Course
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Unread Jul 12th, 2012, 09:22 pm
eslHQ Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Apr 28th, 2012
Posts: 36
InJen is on a distinguished road
Default Re: as of & from

thank you for you answer susan; and I've got some ideas.

for FROM/AS FROM/AS OF, a famous English teacher(not native speaker but proficient)tells me, past tense should be used, even though the event is continuing, and the present perfect tense should be used when SINCE is used. He also said that a sentence like We have been told to learn Mandarin from 1921 is usually regarded as wrong by strict grammarians, and open-minded ones will consider it OK. susan do you think it's absolutely correct?
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Unread Jul 13th, 2012, 03:13 am
Sue
 
Join Date: Oct 8th, 2006
Location: Milan
Posts: 1,406
susan53 is on a distinguished road
Default Re: as of & from

As of/from can be used to express both past and future events - see the examples above.
__________________
An ELT Notebook
The DELTA Course
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Find the Best TEFL, TESL, TESOL & CELTA Certification Courses - User Submitted Ratings & Reviews for Online, Distance & Abroad TEFL Courses. Over 3,500 reviews of 100+ TEFL schools!

Teach English in Thailand - Onsite and Combined TEFL certification courses in Phuket, Thailand.


Free ESL Flashcards




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:40 am.

All materials from this website are for classroom-use only. Digital redistribution of materials, in part or in whole, is strictly forbidden!

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2