How do I use "as of now" correctly?

Question

Just to clarify, I am not a native English speaker. I occasionally hear from other non-native English speakers the use of the phrase: "*As of now*" with the meaning of *Currently*. Initially I did not understand what they meant and it took me a while to understand that for them saying: "*As of now it works like that*" in their mind meant "*Currently it works like that*". I think that *As of now* is only used to indicate *From now on*. The proper phrase they should be using should be *As **is** now*. Am I wrong on this?

Answer 1

English is so tricky when it comes to colloquial phrases! It's hard to dissect a phrase that has already been accepted into commonly used vernacular and say that it 'should' be something different. The nature of the English language is an evolving one. It may help to think of the phrase "as of now" as meaning "for now." So, they're simply saying that something works that way right now, although it may not continue to work that way in the future. However you are correct that, in a strictly grammatical analysis of the term, one would interpret it to mean the same as "from here on out," or "from this point forward."

Hope this helps!