Tense after "until"

Question

Hello!
I've just read this sentence in a novel, and I can't seem to get over the tense used after "until"... It hurts my ears when I read it, but it may be correct, it just seems a little unusual to me.
Could you please explain whether it's correct, and why (how)?
Thanks

"At the end of this summer, he would be starting his fourth year at ***; and he was already counting the days until he would be back there again."

Paco2004 · Accepted Answer

Hello Pieanne

I'm a learner but could you allow me to put my two cents?

I think this use of 'would' is OK because at the time the author is writing this, the event of his return is the one that would probably take place in future.

You can be sure any kind moderator will come to correct if I am wrong. Please wait.

paco

CalifJim · Answer

He was already counting the days until he would be back there again.

The sentence is correct. "until" can also be rendered as "before":

He was already counting the days before he would be back there again.

"until he would be back ..." is roughly equivalent to "before he was going to be back ..."

Just the truth · Answer

"At the end of this summer, he would be starting his fourth year at ***; and he was already counting the days until he would be back there again."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

JT: I see from your website URL that you're French, Pieanne. Perhaps it sounds strange to you because you've been taught/you've read that is the past tense of . That's not true for modern English; the modal verbs are tenseless in modern English.

Also, I believe French modals still retain their tense characteristics, so this combination could be what's confusing you. [see, the 'could' I just used is future, not past] I have a friend who speaks English very well but she, a native French speaker, often uses 'could' inappropriately for English, for example.

"I could catch the ball." to refer to a one time action of catching a ball. That's likely appropriate for French, as it is for Japanese; it's not for English. This has a future conditional meaning >>>> "I could catch the ball if ... "

Now, back to the main issue. This is "would in the past for the future", Pieanne. This means that as you read, the time frame is in the past. To help you visualize this let's say the author is speaking from July of 2002.

By using , the author is causing ENLs to project our thoughts to a point in time that is ahead of the time when he's speaking, which is July 2002, to a future time, Autumn 2002.

Both have future reference, BUT future reference discussed from a past point in time, ie. July 2002.

Put "years later he would become" or your own example into a Google using search box, "English", and you'll get quite a few examples of this structure, but you won't get many because it isn't among the most commonly used structures in English.

Tense after "until"

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