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Springmeans Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

by vs. until

He will back by 6 (-> You will definitely see him any time after) 6:00:01 He won't be back by 6 -> (You can't see him any time before 6:00:01)

Can you please check if the first two are correctly written to mean what's in the bracket?

He will be back until 6 - >
He won't be back until 6->

Can you also explain to me how 'until' interpreted comparing 'by'?
  

Top answer

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

— Nikoo

  • We use until to talk about a situation or state that will continue up to a certain moment .
  • We use by to say that an action or event will happen at or before a future moment .
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3 Answers
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We use until to talk about a situation or state that will continue up to a certain moment. We use by to say that an action or event will happen at or before a future moment.
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Thank you Nikoo. Do you mind double checking the followings for me?

If someone answers my phone saying,
'He will be away untill Thursday', this means he will be back in office on Friday morning?
My questions is does until include 'From now to the whole Thursday'

'He will be back by Friday' means He will be away until Thursday?
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Hi,
springmeans'He will be away until Thursday', this means he will be back in office on Friday morning?
He will be away until Thursday = He won't be back before Thursday.

He will be back by Friday = He will be back on or before Friday (For example he may be back on Thursday).
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