by the time

Question

Hi there,Is it possible to use by the time with a negative sentence ?Example:I hadn't told anybody about my plan by the time I had enough money for it.Thank you in advance.

Feebs11 · Accepted Answer

Perfectly possible. Your sentence is fine.

CalifJim · Answer

It sounds odd to me.
I had not told him by the time ... ???
CJ

Avangi · Answer

I think it would be more natural to reverse the order: By the time I had saved/raised the money for my plan, not another soul knew about it. No, it still sounds odd. Something must change. It can't be just a continuing condition, like, "I had kept the secret all that time."

By the time I raised the money, the house was no longer for sale. That's negative in a sense.

By the time I get to Phoenix, she'll be rising. Unless you say, "she will have risen," it really means "at the time," although "by the time" focuses on the passing of time.

Well, maybe you could say, "By the time I raised the money I had still not found a partner." (That situation has not changed.) It seems to work okay with "still."

I still hadn't told anybody about my plan by the time I had enough money for it.

- A.

Edit. Coming back to this after a rest, I'm starting to agree with Feebs. Your sentence is sounding fine to me. (Shall I delete my post??)

by the time

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