by the time

Hi,

'By the time' means 'not later than ..' eg by the time I picked up the phone, it had stopped ringing.

By the time I reached school, the bell had rung. OK

By the time I reached school, the bell rang. I wouldn't say it's wrong, but it would sound more natural with the Past Perfect.

Best wishe

- By the time I reached school, the bell had rung. (the bell rang before I reached school.)

- By the time I reached school, the bell rang. (First, I reached school, then the bell rang.)

1- Is "by the time" the same as "when"?

2- Is there a difference in meaning as I wrote above?

I would say that in this case by the time could also mean the progress up to a particular time. Please correct me if this is not the case.

In view of this, both sentences are correct, and I would not say that much difference occur though I agree with Clive that the one with the Past Perfect structure sounds more natural. There is j

I don't think "that" is required after "by the time"...

Another way to rephrase the second (simple past) sentence could be "by the time I reached school, the bell was ringing".

pieanne -- According to PEU 2005 (Practical English Usage) you need to write that after by the time when a verb follows. That is the reason why I wrote it. But it might be incorrect. Now I am a little confused.

Regards Jay

I really don't think you have to write it. You can, of course. But if you google both possibilities, you can see the "without-that" version is much more used.

Okay sorry about that but anyhow, none of us was mistaking. Good evening

I agree to your point , Pieanne.