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Yulysess Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

why not?

1b00It was not long 01i00___02i00 the design deficiencies of the room became apparent. 02b02br
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00A) as if 02br
00B) before 02br
00C) until 02br
00D) wherever 02br
00E) unless02br
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00Hello teachers,02br
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00The answer given is "B"; Is option "C" also possible? If not, why? One more, is this question a suitable test question in terms of the evaluation of "before/until" usage)02br
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00Any comment' ll be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.0-
  

Top answer

0That's a good 'un, Yulysess. At first blush I thought that 'until' wouldn't work but upon reflection and a google, it seems apparent that they both work. I'll suggest that 'before' sounds a bit more formal, 'until' less so.

— Wampum

  • 0That's a good 'un, Yulysess.
  • At first blush I thought that 'until' wouldn't work but upon reflection and a google, it seems apparent that they both work.
  • I'll suggest that 'before' sounds a bit more formal, 'until' less so.
  • 0-
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8 Answers
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0That's a good 'un, Yulysess. At first blush I thought that 'until' wouldn't work but upon reflection and a google, it seems apparent that they both work. I'll suggest that 'before' sounds a bit more formal, 'until' less so. 02br
02br
00That strongly suggests that the test question should be sent straight to the trash bin.0-
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0 I think both 01font00before02font00 and 01font00until02font00 are acceptable. 02br
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01i00Webster's Third New International Dictionary02i00 has the following definitions for these conjunctive usages:01blockquote
01blockquote
11b
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0 I can't say for certain whether this is a good test question. It might depend, I think, on the particular variety of English your teacher is aiming at.02br
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00 For me, as an American, the sentence opener "It was not long before ..." is as standard as it gets. I find "It was not long until ..." strange -- not because the meaning is strange or impossible with "unt
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0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite10For me, as an American, the sentence opener "It was not long before ..." is as standard as it gets. I find "It was not long until ..." strange -- not because the meaning is strange or impossible with "until", but because it conflicts with the standard way of following "It was not long ...". I don't know whether
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0 Does everyone agree that 01font00before02font00 is more common, but 01font00until 02font00is also correct?0-
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0 Thank you all again, indeed! Much appreciated. 0-
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0The structure "X until Y" seems more idiomatic to me when X is a process:02br
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001. I read posts on English Forums until I fell asleep.02br
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00MrP0-
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0 01blockquote
00 Does everyone agree that 11font10before12font10 is more common, but 11font10until 12font10is also correct?12blockquote
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00 I don't think any 01u00one02u00 of us out here in cyberspace can answer that question!02
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