''as of''

[jctgf]

"The cost of a separate investigation by the federal elections commissioner into the disputed advertising expenses has so far cost $504,622, bringing the total cost to taxpayers as of June 30 to $646,794, according to Elections Canada."

Hi,
What does "as of" mean in the text above, please?
I usually employ "as of", "as to" and "as for" to express the idea of "in regard of" or "in respect with".
Thanks.

[Anglika]

In this context it means as at the date of.

[dodonaomik]

Hi,friend,let me try to reply.
In a big dictionary ,《A DICTIONARY OF CURRENT IDIOMATIC ENGLISH》( published by Chinese), there are good explanations.




I guess you are not a Chinese,so the Chinese words are deleted by me.


1 at or until( a certain time):
I know that as of last week he was still unmarried
2 starting or dating from ( a point of time),as from:
The rule takes effect as of July 1



As to your question,
I will select the first explanation.

[jctgf]

Hi,friend,let me try to reply.
In a big dictionary ,《A DICTIONARY OF CURRENT IDIOMATIC ENGLISH》( published by Chinese), there are good explainations.




I guess you are not a Chinese,so the Chinese words are deleted by me.


1 at or until( a certain time):
I know that as of last week he was still unmarried
2 starting or dating from ( a point of time),as from:
The rule takes effect as of July 1



As to your question,
I will select the first explanation.

thanks a lot.
the two possible meanings seem to be opposites to me.
the 1st one is "ending at a certain time" and the 2nd is "beginning at a certain time".
thanks again.

[dodonaomik]

thanks a lot.
the two possible meanings seem to be opposites to me.
the 1st one is "ending at a certain time" and the 2nd is "beginning at a certain time".
thanks again.

Yes.
At first,the dictionary was published by 2 presses,one of which is

Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press,
( :: FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND RESEARCH PRESS ::)
another one is
TIANJIN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PRESS
(http://www.tjkjcbs.com.cn/)[sorry,it's a Chines website]


Secondly,let's look at " the Chinese meanings"
1 at or until( a certain time):
I know that as of last week he was still unmarried
我知道到上星期为止[= ending]，他还没有结婚

2 starting or dating from ( a point of time),as from:
The rule takes effect as of July 1
本规定自7月1日起[=beginning]生效

[Raymott]

thanks a lot.
the two possible meanings seem to be opposites to me.
the 1st one is "ending at a certain time" and the 2nd is "beginning at a certain time".
thanks again.

That's true. I never use it partly for that reason.
For "as of" meaning "up until", you could use "up until", "up to".
For "as of" meaning "since", you could use "since", or "from".

[David L.]

That's true. I never use it partly for that reason.
For "as of" meaning "up until", you could use "up until", "up to".
For "as of" meaning "since", you could use "since", or "from".

I know that as of last week he was still unmarried

This is a totally incorrect use of 'as of' that completely changes the meaning of the sentence.
The intended meaning seems to be: he has always been a bachelor. There is a rumour he got married. I saw him last Tuesday, and he was still a bachelor then; (so any marriage must have been within the past week).
The sentence would be:
I know that up to last week, he was still unmarried

The sentence:
I know that as of last week he was still unmarried.
Let's chop out what isn't necessary and invert it for clarity:
"He was still unmarried as of last week."
This would mean:
From last week/last Tuesday, up to this moment in time, he was/is still not married. The use of 'still' imparts the implication, (for example as in the premise of a couple of movies), he has a certain amount of time in which to marry or forfeit an inheritance...and time may be running out: 'still' implies that this unmarried state was not ended much earlier than last week, so that he was sure to inherit.
'still' and 'as of last week' are trying to get across the meaning 'he remains' right up to this moment...but as it stands, the sentence is nonsensical. All you would need to say is, "I know he is still unmarried." (He is right now at this moment, was a week ago, and all his life before that if he isn't a divorced person.)
That's true. I never use it partly for that reason.
For "as of" meaning "up until", you could use "up until", "up to".
There is no such meaning for 'as of' = 'up until'

jctgf: you spotted the anomoly in meanings!

[Raymott]

That's true. I never use it partly for that reason.
For "as of" meaning "up until", you could use "up until", "up to".
There is no such meaning for 'as of' = 'up until'

For "as of" meaning "up until", you could use "up until", "up to".
Yes, this is wrong. My suggestion was that if one is considering using "as of" to mean "up until", then
they should consider using that term "up until".
People use "as if" in Australia for all these meanings (up until, at, and since).
I understood that this is what this thread was about - the opposite ways in which "as of" is used.
For example, if we are collecting money for Mary's birthday present, "as of" can be heard in Australia with the intended meaning in the following contexts:
"As of 3pm, we have $35" or "As of 3pm, we had $35" (meaning either "up until", or "at")
"As of 3pm, we've collected $35" (meaning since 3pm).

[dodonaomik]

I know that as of last week he was still unmarried

This is a totally incorrect use of 'as of' that completely changes the meaning of the sentence.

According to the Chinese words,I feel that

The intended meaning should be :this unmarried state was not ended much earlier than last week, so that he was sure to inherit.


Oh,my god! That's a big pity that that press made an absurd mistake.The press, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, is very very famous in China[in the field of foreign language ].Now ,it seems the press is not perfecty absolutely.

[dodonaomik]

For "as of" meaning "up until", you could use "up until", "up to".
Yes, this is wrong. My suggestion was that if one is considering using "as of" to mean "up until", then
they should consider using that term "up until".
People use "as if" in Australia for all these meanings (up until, at, and since).
I understood that this is what this thread was about - the opposite ways in which "as of" is used.
For example, if we are collecting money for Mary's birthday present, "as of" can be heard in Australia with the intended meaning in the following contexts:
"As of 3pm, we have $35" or "As of 3pm, we had $35" (meaning either "up until", or "at")
"As of 3pm, we've collected $35" (meaning since 3pm).

Is it ( meaning either "up until", or "at" ) right in Australia and wrong in UK and USA?

Oh,I'm totally puzzled by you