before now: before the present time He only left about five minutes ago.
[14th century. < the past participle of Old English āgān "go away, pass by" < gān "go"]
Word Usage
ago and since:
If ago is used, it should be followed by that and not since in a following clause: It was several weeks ago that I saw them. If ago is left out, then since is used: It is several weeks since I saw them.
