Untilis a preposition and a conjunction.Untilis often shortened totillor’til. Tilland’tilare more informal and we don’t usually use them in formal writing.
Untilas a preposition
Untilas a preposition means ‘up to (the time that)’:
We played chessuntilmidnight.(up to midnight)
The film didn’t endtilleleven o’clock.
We usefromwithuntilortillto talk about when something begins and when it ends:
I worked out at the gymfrom6 pmtill7.30 pm.
The road outside our house will be closedfrom6 amuntil6 pm tomorrow.
We useby, notuntil, to talk about something that will happen before a particular time or deadline:
The movie will be finishedby9 pm.
Not:The movie will be finished until/till 9 pm.
We don’t useuntilortillto talk about quantity or numbers. We useup to:
The taxi can takeup tofive people.
Not:The taxi can take until five people.
We don’t useuntilortillto talk about distance. We useas far as:
Larry drove meas far asthe shop and I walked the rest of the way home.
Not:Larry drove me until the shop…
Untilas a conjunction
We useuntilas a subordinating conjunction to connect an action or an event to a pointin time:
Let’s wait heretillthe rain stops.(till+ subordinate clause)
We don’t normally put theuntil-clause before the main clause:
No one left the roomuntilthe talk ended.
Not:Until the talk ended no one left…
We use present verb forms to refer to the future afteruntil:
I can’t waituntilthe summer holidaysbegin.
Not: …until the summer holidays will begin.
We also use the present perfect afteruntilto refer to actions or events that will continue up to a point in the future:
We’ll sit heretillDonnahas finished.
Not: …until Donna will have finished.
We use the past simple and past perfect to talk about events in the past:
He was the headteacheruntilheretiredin 1968.
We couldn’t put down the new floortillthe plumberhad finished.
We can’t useuntilortillto mean ‘in advance of’. In this case we usebefore:
Please return your registration formbeforeyou leave the room.
Not:Please return your registration form until you leave the room.
Until: typical errors
We don’t useuntilto talk about things that will happen before a particular time or deadline; we useby:
All applications must be receivedbyFriday, 26 June 2009.
Not: …until Friday, 26 June 2009.
We don’t useuntilortillto talk about quantity; we useup to:
The theatre can holdup totwo hundred people.
Not:The theatre can hold until two hundred people.
We don’t useuntilortillto talk about distance; we useas far as:
We had to driveas far asLiverpool for the last hockey match that I played.
Not:We had to drive until Liverpool…
Take care to spelluntilwith only onelat the end: not ‘untill’.