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Vincent Ding Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

Not until

0 this is about structures set up by "not" collocated with "until". 02br
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00a context may go like this: 02br
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00as per a contract, A is to sell a cargo to B and A is supposed to delivere the cargo to B prior to 1 Jan. 2005 but failed to do that even after the day 1 Jan. 2005. such being the case, can it be said: 02br
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00"A did not delivere the cargo to B until 1 Jan. 2005. " 02br
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00i doubt it is true because it means to me that the cargo was delivered on the day 1 Jan. 2005. and i don't think "not until " is applicable here. 02br
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00to me, "A did not delivere the cargo to B even after 1 Jan. 2005" should serve the purpose correctly. 02br
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00by the way, does "A failed to delivere the cargo to B until 1 Jan. 2005 " fit in the circumstance? 02br
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00tks a lot. 0-
  

Top answer

0 Hi, Vincent, 02br 00The following is my personal opinion. 02br 02br 00To me, 01i 00until02i 00 suggests continuity. It sounds as if A had to secure 01b 00repeated02b 00 deliveries of cargo to B until Jan 1.

— Miche

  • 0 Hi, Vincent, 02br 00The following is my personal opinion.
  • 02br 02br 00To me, 01i 00until02i 00 suggests continuity.
  • It sounds as if A had to secure 01b 00repeated02b 00 deliveries of cargo to B until Jan 1.
  • Therefore in this case I would use 01b 00by02b 00: A did not/failed to deliver the cargo to B by Jan 1 (as agreed).
  • 02br 02br 00If you want to stress that A has not delivered the cargo yet, though the deadline was Jan 1, the sentence you suggests (A did not deliver the cargo to B even after 1 Jan.
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10 Answers
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0 Hi, Vincent, 02br
00The following is my personal opinion. 02br
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00To me, 01i00until02i00 suggests continuity. It sounds as if A had to secure 01b00repeated02b00 deliveries of cargo to B until Jan 1. Therefore in this case I would use 01b00by02b00: A did not/failed to deliver the cargo to B
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0tks again, Meche. 05002br
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00yeah. "by" should be a good word to remember. 02br
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00but i again found difference in the way of thinking by a Chinese. u see, when A failed to deliver the cargo by 1 Jan. 2005, he was very likely to do that someday after 1 Jan. 2005 rather than on 1 Jan. 2005. in such event, a Chinese always intend to stress the d
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0 Oh, it surely is an interesting point. I often think about how culture affects people's perceptions, understandings and - of course - language, which reflects all this. It is not only the Chinese who think differently. I think you can come across this phenomenon quite often in these forums. 02br
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00BTW, I wonder how it is correct to say: IN / ON / AT the forums? 0-
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0 It seems every culture/language has its own way of phrasing that concept. 02br
00The French, for example, use, "... did not ... before [point in time]" where the English say, "... did not ... until [point in time]". Pieanne can probably confirm. 02br
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00"until" says that the delivery did (finally!) take place at the point in time mentioned after "until". 0
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0 Oh, yes, CalifJim, I didn't think about that point. 02br
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00A did not deliver the cargo until Jan 1 = It was not before Jan 1 that A delivered the cargo. Right? 02br
00Frankly speaking, I too tend to use that "before", though I clearly recognise it in English.05000 I'll have to remember it when translating!02br
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00By the way,
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0I confirm 050010id1
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0 01blockquote
00By the way, CalifJim, shall I use AT the forums? I think of the forum as a square, that's why I used IN above.12blockquote
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00Interesting question! 02br
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00I hang out in another forum that is more like a cybercafe, so I'd say "in the cafe". But I also hang out in a website that is like a cyb
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0Jacques Cousteau remembered for his 'common touch' 02br
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00The world shared his underwater adventures 02br
00June 25, 1997 02br
00Web posted at: 11:22 p.m. EDT (0322 GMT) 02br
00PARIS (CNN) -- For millions of people who see the ocean only through the porthole of television, the voice of the sea had a soft French accent. 02br
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0 By the way, CalifJim, shall I use AT the forums? 02br
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01i00_______02i02br
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00I'd use "in". "at" is certainly understandable, however. 02br
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00CJ 0-
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0 Thank you all Pieanne, Julielai and CalifJim! 0-
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