maintenant

In a sentence

• Je travaille maintenant sur une nouvelle idée.

  I am now working on a new idea.

  Here, 'maintenant' indicates the current time during which the action takes place.

• Il n'est pas disponible maintenant, il reviendra plus tard.

  He is not available now; he will come back later.

  In this sentence, 'maintenant' specifies the point in time being contrasted with the later availability mentioned.

• Maintenant que tout est prêt, commençons.

  Now that everything is ready, let's begin.

  The phrase 'maintenant que' is used to indicate the current completed condition that allows the subsequent action.