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Difference between Теперь and сейнас.

Posted: May 22nd, 15, 22:20
by lopmir
For Russian speaker friends.

Добрый День!

What is the difference between Теперь and сейнас? Both of them mean now.

Re: Difference between Теперь and сейнас.

Posted: May 29th, 15, 14:49
by LoveMyRussia
hi,

it seems to me that теперь is used mainly in situatuations when you hadn't known something before or couldn't do something, but now you know it / can do it, for example, Gordon Ramsay showed you how to cook Russian pirozhki (ha ha!) and you say: Теперь я знаю, как готовить русские пирожки! or once you missed a chance to get acquainted with a beautiful girl and now you have such an opportunity and you say: Теперь-то я не упущу свой шанс!
As to сейчас,
Сейчас я пишу на форуме вместо того, чтобы заниматься своей работой...Сейчас войдет мой начальник, а я тут на форуме сижу...

Re: Difference between Теперь and сейнас.

Posted: Jul 3rd, 15, 22:56
by NikitaKulkin
Previous answer is not really correct.
Actually теперь means "by the moment" or "for now" and commonly used when you speak about something that is happening in present moment but what has a background in history like: Теперь можно с уверенность сказать что пожар потушен. By the moment we can say that the fire is down.
And сейчас means actual "now" and used when you speak about something starts from this very moment and much like will continue in future: Сейчас будет салют. There will be fireworks now.

Re: Difference between Теперь and сейнас.

Posted: Jul 7th, 15, 11:44
by LoveMyRussia
Никита, добрый день!
в чем некорректность предыдущего ответа?

Difference between Теперь and сейнас

Posted: Aug 5th, 15, 19:53
by AlexKotovoi
What is the difference between a стих and a поэма?

I've considered the two words to be synonyms, but now it seems to me that there is a distinction between the two but I don't know what the distinction is. Is a РїРѕСЌРјР° a long poem, perhaps?

Re: Difference between Теперь and сейнас.

Posted: Aug 24th, 15, 20:07
by Taras
Hi guys,
the word 'сейчас' means 'at the present time'. As for 'теперь', it seems that this word has initially meant 'now, after the previous stage' (not necessarily at the present time), but then it has acquired the additional meaning 'at the present time'. For example, speaking about the past, we may say

Он выиграл велогонку Тур де Франс. Теперь он собирался выиграть Джиро д'Италия. -- He won the bicycle race Tour de France. Now he was going to win Giro d'Italia.
Её приняли на новую работу. Теперь ей нужно было хорошо себя зарекомендовать. -- She was employed for a new job. Now she was to prove herself as a good employee.

In these sentence we speak about next stages in the past. As you can see, talking about the past, we may not substitute 'теперь' with 'сейчас'. However, in sentences related to the present the replacement of one word by the other one does not usually affect the meaning:

Раньше он работал шофёром, а теперь он охранник. -- He used to work as a driver, and now he's a guard. (The meaning would be the same with 'сейчас', but 'теперь' reminds that the stage of working as a driver is ended.)
Мы сыграли вничью прошлый матч. Теперь мы должны выиграть. -- We tied the last match. Now we have to win. (The stage without a win is due to end.)

Nevertheless, in the phrase

Мы рассмотрели Ваше предложение. Теперь нам следует изучить другие проекты. Сделаем мы это завтра. -- We have considered your suggestion. Now we should study other projects. We will do that tomorrow.

it's slightly better to use 'теперь' than 'сейчас' since the plan is to study the projects tomorrow, not now. However, here 'сейчас' is also possible because its meaning is not fixed: it may mean 'today' or 'this week' or 'this month' or ... In sentences related to the future 'теперь' may not be used even so it means 'after the previous stage':

Завтра мы приедем в Киев. Затем нам нужно будет доехать до Борисполя. -- Tomorrow we'll arrive in Kiev. Then we'll have to get to Borispol.

In this sentence 'Затем' may not be substituted with 'Теперь'.

So, 'сейчас' means 'at the present time', and therefore it may be used only talking about the present. In sentences about the past 'теперь' means 'after the previous stage', in the present tense 'теперь' means 'at the present time' and reminds that the previous stage is ended. In the future tense 'теперь' may not be used.

Re: Difference between Теперь and сейнас.

Posted: May 2nd, 16, 21:23
by lopmir
Thank you so much for explaining.