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Electrum Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

'before' or 'until' or 'till"

It wouldn't be long before they started shooting.
It wouldn't be long until they started shooting.
It wouldn't be long till they started shooting.

I guess I use these interchangeably, but there's always a question in the back of my mind whether there isn't some reason to prefer one or the other, at least in a given context.

Anyone care to comment?
  

Top answer

Only the first sounds absolutely right to me.

  • Only the first sounds absolutely right to me.
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12 Answers
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Only the first sounds absolutely right to me.
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Do you have any concrete basis or this is this a personal preference?
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They are one and the same. An advantage of being a native speaker and English teacher. I don't have to rummage through grammar books all the time.
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Personally I would have thought 'until' was fine, and by virtue of that 'till'; 'before' would have been my last choice - if at all. The usage of 'before' (in terms of time) seems to be as such: A before B, where A is an action or nonaction (either continuous or instant) during the period of time prior to B occuring. "It wouldn't be long" does actually state an action or nonaction - which is why
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We say "five minutes before nine" and "five minutes till nine".

At 8:55, the time is five minutes before nine, so five minutes will have to pass until it is nine.
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Mister MicawberAn advantage of being a native speaker and English teacher. I don't have to rummage through grammar books all the time.
This is not informative. It is merely boastful and dogmatic.
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Yep! That's me. And I don't have to ask questions here, either.
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I would never write, "Yep! That's me." It makes you sound like a yahoo.
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Yep! We yahoos always talk like that, dude.
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this one sounds so right...

It wouldn't be long before they started shooting.

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