TO or TILL

Question

TO or TILL please? I know I've asked this but I can't find the answer and a lot of people give me different answers.

1 There are another 10 episodes till/to/before the end of the show.
2 I am/There are 20 pages left to/till/before the end of the book.
3 I have 20 pages of the book left.

Thank you

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

There are many ways to phrase these. My suggestions are in blue. I hardly ever use the word "till". I use "until" instead. It turns out that I probably would not use even "until" in any of these. I wouldn't use "to" either. I consider a "show" a single episode of a "series", but your conception of it is not wrong.

___________

1 There are another 10 episodes till/to/before the end of the show.
There are another ten episodes before the end of the series.
There are ten episodes left before the series ends.
There are ten episodes to go before the series ends.

2 I am/There are 20 pages left to/till/before the end of the book.
3 I have 20 pages of the book left (to read).

I'm 20 pages from the end of the book.
There are 20 pages left before the end of the book.

I have 20 pages of the book left. [same as 3]
I have 20 pages to go before I finish the book.
There are 20 pages left (for me to read) before I finish the book.
____________

Bonus information:

Note the casual expression "to go" for "left" when progress toward a goal is involved. For the steps already accomplished the word is "down".

I was assigned 15 exercises to do. (I have) 8 down, and 7 to go.

CJ

Alc24 · Answer

OK Thank you CJ

For one if I were to say I AM instead of THERE ARE

I am 10 episode from the end of the season. IS THAT OK?

There are another ten episodes before the end of the series.
There are ten episodes left before the series ends.
There are ten episodes to go before the series ends.

CANT YOU USE UNTIL? UNTIL DOESNT SOUND OFF

What about in this?

1 THere are 3 mintues left to the half/until the half/before the half
" " to the end of the 3rd quarter./till/before...

I've heard people use TO. When would you use to in this kind of sentence??

thank you CJ

TrysB · Answer

Hi alc24,
You might be able to use 'I am' as you do, but it would have to be in context. If you said something like: I am watching the entire Simpsons series, and I am ten episodes from the end of the first season. That would be a casual or conversational way of saying that you had ten episodes left to watch in the first season of the Simpsons.

Using 'until' instead of 'before' is not ungrammatical. To me it's just a matter of preference or style. Correct me if I'm wrong.

There are three minutes left in the first half.

There are three minutes to [go before] the end of the first half.

There are three minutes until the end of the first half.

There are three minutes to the end of the third quarter.

All are acceptable ways of saying the same thing.

CalifJim · Answer

I am 10 episodes from the end of the season. IS THAT OK? Sure.

There are another ten episodes before the end of the series.
There are ten episodes left before the series ends.
There are ten episodes to go before the series ends.

CAN'T YOU USE UNTIL? UNTIL DOESN'T SOUND OFF.

until does sound a little off to my ear in the first one. The way I hear it, the mere existence of something doesn't go with until. (There are ten apples on the table until tomorrow???) In the other two, with left and to go, until doesn't strike me as negatively. It could be just personal preference.
_______________

1 THere are 3 mintues left to the half/until the half/before the half
" " to the end of the 3rd quarter./till/before...

I've heard people use TO. When would you use to in this kind of sentence?

I can't think of a general rule that answers your question. I might use to in the following:

There are three minutes left [to / in] the third quarter.

To my ear, it's a matter of a certain amount of time being left (which belongs) to a certain time period. That time doesn't belong to the end of the period; it belongs to the whole period. Again, this could just be personal preference.

CJ

TO or TILL

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