until the time

You don't need "the time."

You're saying that once you crossed the threshold to your abode, you became refreshed and full. Is that what you meant?

handtalkIs the sentence below correct?

Yes, but it is not quite native.

I was tired and hungry when I got home.

Thanks for the replies, deadrat and Mister Micawber.

The reason I asked was that there was a grammar test problem asking you to choose either "by" or "until", as below.
I knew the answer was "by", but I just couldn't explain well "until" was incorrect and should be discarded.
This was a grammar problem and the resulting sentence could mean anything as long as it is grammatically c

handtalk( ) the time I got home

I think "the time" is the key to the choice.

It's "until I got home" and "by the time I got home".

"by" needs "the time"; "until" does not.

CJ

CalifJim"by" needs "the time"; "until" does not.

Hi, CalifJim. Thanks for your reply.

So, "until" does not need to be followed by "the time", but is it OK also to be used with "the time", for example, when you want to emphasize?

I googled "until the time he", and got many hits...

handtalkSo, "until" does not need to be followed by "the time", but is it OK also to be used with "the time"

Correct.

However, with "by" it's different. You can't say "By I got home"; it has to be "By the time I got home".

CJ

handtalkI googled "until the time he", and got many hits...

This https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?con

Thank you, CalifJim and fivejedjon.

So, for the grammar problem below, the answer should be 'by' for the reason that the expression 'until the time' is much less common?
Or, maybe the problem just isn't very good?

(By/Until) the time I got home, I was tired and hungry.

handtalkSo, for the grammar problem below, the answer should be 'by' for the reason that the expression 'until the time' is much less common?

No. I think you're getting lost in the weeds of all this detail regarding 'by' and 'until'. Try to take your attention off that and think of the meanings of 'by the time' and 'until'. They are opposites.

Use

Thanks, CalifJim.

Now I see clearly why 'by' should be the answer. It's because of the context.
All the discussion, as you mentioned, kind of lost my focus, but was very interesting, nonetheless.
I think I learned a lot.

Thanks.