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Olga55 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Help me to see the difference.

0Hello, I can't see the difference btw two sentences:02br
02br
00a) 00We had to wait six weeks 01b00before/until02b00 the parcel arrived.02br
00b) 00They sat on the beach 01b00until02b00 the sun sank below horizon and then they went home. 02br
02br
00In the sentence a) we can use 01b00before 02b00and 01b00until 02b00because(00A situation continues to happen up to a 01b00time02b00 indicated in the adverbial00 )02br
00In the sentence b) we can only use 01b00until 02b00because ( an action continues to 00a particular timeand then stops00.02br
02br
00To me in both sentences the action continues up to a 01u00particular time02u00 ( 01u00the parcel arrived02u00,01u00 02u00and the waiting stops; 01u00the sun sank02u00 and they stopped sitting on the beach)02br
02br
00Why can we use 01b00before02b00 and 01b00until02b00 in the sentence a) and only 01b00until02b00 in the sentence b)02br
02br
00Thank you.0-
  

Top answer

02br 00b) 00They sat on the beach 01b 00until02b 00 the sun sank below horizon and then they went home. 02br 02br 00To me in both sentences the action continues up to a 00particular time00 ( 00the parcel arrived00,00 00and the waiting stops; 00the sun sank00 and they stopped sitting on the beach)02br 02br 00Why can we use 01b 00before02b 00 and 01b 00until02b 00 in the sentence a) and only 01b 00until02b 00 in the sentence b)02br 02br 00This is an interesting question. My first reaction is simply to say that the conjunction 'before' means 'earlier than the time when'.

— Clive

  • 02br 00b) 00They sat on the beach 01b 00until02b 00 the sun sank below horizon and then they went home.
  • 02br 02br 00To me in both sentences the action continues up to a 00particular time00 ( 00the parcel arrived00,00 00and the waiting stops; 00the sun sank00 and they stopped sitting on the beach)02br 02br 00Why can we use 01b 00before02b 00 and 01b 00until02b 00 in the sentence a) and only 01b 00until02b 00 in the sentence b)02br 02br 00This is an interesting question.
  • My first reaction is simply to say that the conjunction 'before' means 'earlier than the time when'.
  • 02br 02br 00Consider 'We had to wait 6 weeks before the parcel arrived'.
  • I would say that 01b 00we look at the context and interpret the meaning02b 00 to be 'up until the time that', but that that is just our interpretation.
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5 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
00a) 00We had to wait six weeks 01b00before/until02b00 the parcel arrived.02br
00b) 00They sat on the beach 01b00until02b00 the sun sank below horizon and then they went home. 02br
02br
00In the sentence a) we can use 01b00before 02b00and 01b00
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0 You'll agree they sat on the beach for a period of time before the sun sank below the horizon?02br
02br
00In a) there are two stated time factors. In b) there is only one.02br
02br
00In a) the waiting is logically terminated by the arriving. In b) the sitting is not logically terminated by the sinking. You could have sat there all ****** night.02br
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0Clive, Avangi, thank you very, very much. I got it. 02img0-
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01. Consider these, in which the passing of time is mentioned. Always 01i00before02i00. 01u00Not02u00 01i00until02i00. The event occurs at the end of a period of time, perhaps even because of attempts to make it happen during that time period. 02br
00Three weeks passed before we discovered the mistake. 02br
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CalifJim, thanks a lot for your explanations. I understood everything!!! That's really helped me a lot.
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