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until

until and till​

These two words can be used both as prepositions and conjunctions. They mean exactly the same. Till (AmE also ’til or til) is informal.

  • OK, then, I won’t expect you until/till midnight.
  • I’ll wait until/till I hear from you.
  • The new timetable will remain in operation until June 30.

until/till and to​

To can sometimes be used as a preposition of time with the same meaning as until/till. This happens after from …

  • I usually work from nine to five. (or … from nine until/till five.)

We can also use to when counting the time until a future event.

  • It’s another three weeks to my birthday. (or … until/till my birthday.)

In other cases, to is not generally used.

  • I waited for her until six o’clock, but she didn’t come. (not I waited for her to six o’clock …)
note

For American English from … through, (see here).

Distance and quantity: until/till not used​

Until/till is used only to talk about time. To talk about distance, we use to, as far as or up to; up to is also used to talk about quantity.

  • We walked as far as/up to the edge of the forest. (not … till the edge …)
  • The minibus can hold up to thirteen people. (not … until thirteen people.)
  • You can earn up to £1,500 a week in this job.

Tenses with until​

Present tenses are used to refer to the future after until (see here).

  • I’ll wait until she gets here. (not … until she will get here.)

Present perfect and past perfect tenses can emphasise the idea of completion.

  • You’re not going home until you’ve finished that report.
  • I waited until the rain had stopped.

Structure with Not until …​

In a literary style it is possible to begin a sentence with Not until …, using inverted word order in the main clause (see here).

  • Not until that evening was she able to recover her self-control.
  • Not until I left home did I begin to understand how strange my family was.

until and by: states and actions​

We use until to talk about a situation or state that will continue up to a certain moment. We use by (see here) to say that an action or event will happen at or before a future moment. Compare:

  • Can I stay until the weekend?
    Yes, but you’ll have to leave by twelve on Monday at the latest. (= at twelve on Monday or before)
  • Can you repair my watch if I leave it until Saturday?
    No, but we can do it by next Tuesday. (not … until next Tuesday.)

until and before​

Not until/till can mean the same as not before.

  • I won’t be seeing Judy until/before Tuesday.

And both until and before can be used to say how far away a future event is.

  • It’ll be ages until/before we meet again.
  • There’s only six weeks left until/before Christmas.