until
gb/ʌntˈɪl/ us/ʌntˈɪl/
A1
Anglais
~ 1500
Sens
0 sens
preposition
A1
relation
1
Up to a certain time
Shows the time when something stops or changes.
Schéma d’usage :
[action/event] until [time/event]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse 'until' with 'by'. 'By' means 'no later than', while 'until' means 'up to that point and not after'.
Synonymes
till (Less formal and more common in spoken English.)
Antonymes
since (Indicates the starting point of an action or state, rather than its ending point.)
Collocations
wait until
|open until
|valid until
|stay until
|until now
Thèmes
daily life
|time
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The store is open until 9 p.m.
- You should wait until the light turns green.
- We talked until midnight.
- I’ll stay here until you get back.
- The offer is valid until the end of the month.
Exemples pédagogiques
- I will work until 5 p.m.
- Wait until I call you.
- She stayed until it was dark.
- The shop is open until 6 o’clock.
- Don’t eat until dinner.
conjunction
A1
relation
2
Before something happens
Shows that something happens for all the time before another thing happens.
Schéma d’usage :
[do something] until [something happens]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes use 'for' instead of 'until'. 'For' shows duration, but 'until' shows the end point of that duration.
Synonymes
till (Interchangeable in most informal contexts.)
Antonymes
once (Indicates the start of an event after a specific moment, not continuation before it.)
Collocations
wait until
|stay until
|until he arrives
|until it stops
Thèmes
daily life
|time
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- Stay here until I return.
- We can’t leave until the rain stops.
- He slept until the alarm rang.
- Don’t open the box until your birthday.
- They played outside until it got dark.
Exemples pédagogiques
- Wait here until I come back.
- We can’t eat until Dad is home.
- She worked until she was tired.
- He stayed in bed until noon.
- I will wait until you are ready.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
until
API
GB/ʌntˈɪl/
US/ʌntˈɪl/
Syllabes et accentuation
un - til (2 syllabes)
Stress on 2nd syllable (til)
Formes du mot
Noun
- Base: until
- Plural: untils
Famille de mots
Forms
untils
noun
Related words
till
preposition A2
Expressions
from now until
1/fɹˈʌm nˈaʊ ʌntˈɪl/
fixed phrase
From now to a future time
From this moment up to a certain future moment.
Exemples
- From now until Friday, we will be very busy.
- You can contact me anytime from now until next week.
not until
1/nˈɑt ʌntˈɪl/
fixed phrase
Only after a certain time/event
Shows that something happens only after a certain time or event, not before.
Exemples
- It’s not safe to swim not until the lifeguard arrives.
- She didn’t leave the party not until midnight.
until now
1/ʌntˈɪl nˈaʊ/
fixed phrase
Up to this moment
Until the present time.
Exemples
- Until now, we have had no problems.
- I didn’t know about this until now.