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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Difference between till & until

1font00WHat's the difference between until & till. I am always confused when to use what.02font02br
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01font00When to use single quotes & when to use double quotes.02font02br
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00Thanks in advance0-
  

Top answer

02br 02br 00The most common belief is that 01i 00till02i 00 is a shortened form of 01i 00until02i 00. You can see how this could have grown up, but the truth of the matter is that 01i 00till02i 00 is by far the older word, being recorded from about the year 800, while it took another 400 years for 01i 00until02i 00 to appear in the language (it’s a compound of 01i 00till02i 00 with the archaic Old Norse 01i 00und02i 00, as far as, which also survives in the archaic 01i 00unto02i 00). But the first sense of 01i 00till02i 00 was 01i 00to02i 00, as it still can be, for example, in Scots and some dialects.

— YoHf

  • 02br 02br 00The most common belief is that 01i 00till02i 00 is a shortened form of 01i 00until02i 00.
  • You can see how this could have grown up, but the truth of the matter is that 01i 00till02i 00 is by far the older word, being recorded from about the year 800, while it took another 400 years for 01i 00until02i 00 to appear in the language (it’s a compound of 01i 00till02i 00 with the archaic Old Norse 01i 00und02i 00, as far as, which also survives in the archaic 01i 00unto02i 00).
  • But the first sense of 01i 00till02i 00 was 01i 00to02i 00, as it still can be, for example, in Scots and some dialects.
  • 02br 02br 00The current position is that 01i 00until02i 00 is the more common of the two words and is generally considered to be slightly more formal, which is why it turns up more often in edited prose.
  • It is also rather more likely to appear at the beginning of a sentence than is 01i 00till02i 00.
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33 Answers
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0They have the same meaning, thus they're interchangeable.02br
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00Here is the fully 'story':02br
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00The status of 01i00’til02i00 versus 01i00until02i00 and 01i00till02i00 is often argued about and most style guides have something to say on the matter.02br
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01font10WHat's the difference between until & till. I am always confused when to use what.12font12blockquote
10This is an extremely easy problem to solve. You can simply do as I do. Never use 01i00till02i00. 05002br
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00 CJ010id1
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01cite10CalifJim12cite10You can simply do as I do. Never use 11i10till12i10. 15012br
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10Ahah. Really? 05102br
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0 There's some differentiation between the two here, they seem to be considered synonyms only for the meaning 2: 01b02br
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00 ---------02br
00 till02b00 02br
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00 Function: 01i00preposition02br
02i02br
01b00102b00 01i00chiefly Scotland02i
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0 01blockquote
00Ahah. Really? 15012blockquote
10Yes. In all honesty, I never use01i00 till 02i00(or 01i00shall02i00!). And hardly ever 01i00whom02i00. One can live one's life quite comfortably without them. 05102br
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00 CJ030src../emoticons/emotion-2
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0That's odd. I use all of them quite a lot.02br
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00[8]0-
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0the current position is that UNTIL is the more common of the 2 words and is generally considered to be slightly more formal, which is why it turns up more often in edited prose. it is also rather more likely to appear at the beginning of a sentence than is TILL. But TILL is perfectly good English and the choice of whether to use it or UNTIL is often decided by the rhythm of the sentence.02br
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But there are some expresions in wich you MUST use 'till'.
For example:
I usually work from morning TILL night. (You just can not use 'until' here.)
TILL we meet again. (You just can not use 'until' here.)
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I am writing a letter for a leadership role at my school and I am wondering whether I should use 'until' or 'till'. the sentence structure is:
From "_____"' 'until' now or 'till' now,
I am leaning towards 'untill' but what do you think?
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Please give more examples "until" and "till". Thanks a lot
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