Episode 25 Master Using Until and By In English

In this episode let's consider the time words 'by' and 'until'. It can be tricky to know which one of these to use, just like yesterday's 'during' and 'for'. 'Until' means something will continue until a point in time, it often seems more urgent than 'by'. 'By' means we need to do something before a future moment. I need to buy my Christmas presents by Tuesday. - The verb 'buy' is something I need to do and I have my time deadline 'by Tuesday'. I've got until Tuesday to buy my Christmas presents. - The outcome is exactly the same - presents before Tuesday, however, this feels a little more urgent. In addition the focus is not on the action of 'buying' but rather the time before buying 'I've got until Tuesday'. We need to leave by 12. -Focused on completing the action of 'leaving' before 12. We have until 12. - Focused on staying! On being where we are until the time is up. 'My Mum's picking me up.' 'OK, what time do you need to be ready by?' - The focus is on 'getting ready' before the deadline. We are asking what the deadline is. 'My Mum's not picking me up until 6.' - There is an action 'getting picked up' but the focus is on the action NOT happening, so we can relax. Additional Vocabulary The clock is ticking. - Idiom - usually used to mean time is running out or we have a limited time for something. If they add 'body' or it is said in the context of women of child-bearing age a 'ticking clock' is often used to talk about the motivation or time to have children. 'Lemeknow' - Several times in this podcast I used some words like this. It should be 'let me know' but in English native speakers often link words together like this. If you head to the 'Resources' page you can find a link to 'Rachel's English'. She is a YouTuber who has professional voice training and can show you how to link words together like this, if having a more 'natural' accent is important to you.