until - till

Until and till are common words which are used as prepositions or conjunctions. There is no difference in meaning between until and till. Till is more common in conversation, and is not used in formal writing.

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◊ used as prepositions

If you do something until or till a particular time, you stop doing it at that time.

He continued to practise as a vet until 1960.

She would have to wait until Wednesday.

We had to wait till the end of the war.

I said I'd work till 4 p.m.

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If you want to emphasize that something does not stop before the time you mention, you can use up until, up till, or up to.

Up until 1950 coal provided over 90% of our energy needs.

Etta had not up till then taken a very active part in the discussion.

Up to now they've had very little say.

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If something does not happen until or till a particular time, it does not happen before that time.

Details will not be available until January.

We didn't get back till two.

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◊ used with 'after'

You can use until or till with phrases beginning with `after'.

The Count had resolved to wait until after Christmas to propose to Gertrude.

They have to wait till after school.

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◊ WARNING

You do not use until or till to say that something will have happened before a particular time. You do not say, for example, `The work will be finished until four o'clock'. You say `The work will be finished by four o'clock'.

By 8.05 the groups were ready.

Total sales in these countries reached 1 million by 1980.

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◊ used with 'from'

From is often used with until or till to say when something finishes and ends.

The ticket office will be open from 10.00am until 1.00pm.

They seem to be working from dawn till dusk.

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In sentences like these, you can use to instead of `until' or `till'. Some American speakers also use through.

The Blitz on London began with nightly bombings from 7 September to 2 November.

I was in college from 1927 through 1932.

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◊ saying how much time there is

If you want to say how much time there is before a particular event, you usually use to, rather than `until' or `till'.

Only ten shopping days to Christmas.

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◊ WARNING

You only use until or till when you are talking about time. You do not use these words to talk about position. You do not say, for example, `She walked until the post office'. You say `She walked as far as the post office'.

I walked as far as her office.

They have gone as far as the Cantabrian mountains.

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◊ used as conjunctions

Instead of a noun group, you can use a subordinate clause after until or till.

Stay here with me until help comes.

Hold these for me until I ask for them.

They concentrate on one language till they go to university.

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Note that you use the simple present tense in the subordinate clause. You do not say, for example `Hold these for me until I will ask for them'.

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You can also use the present perfect tense in the subordinate clause. For example, you can say `I'll wait here until you have had your breakfast'. You do not say `I'll wait here until you will have had your breakfast'.

Tell him I won't discuss anything until I've spoken to my wife.

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When you are talking about events in the past, you use the simple past tense or the past perfect tense after until or till.

Dr Owen remained Foreign Secretary until Labour lost office in 1979.

He continued watching until I had driven off in my car.

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