The Difference Between Up to, Until, and Till

2021-02-20

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Abrahan Ferrer, who is in Spain.
    • 2
  • Hello there,
    • 3
  • I am writing to you because I am quite confused with these three options here: up to, until and till.
    • 4
  • I don't know how to use it properly.
    • 5
  • Could you explain these words to us, please?
    • 6
  • Thank you very much for your support in teaching us English.
    • 7
  • Keep it up!!
    • 8
  • Dear Abrahan,
    • 9
  • Thank you for your message!
    • 10
  • Let's start with "until," and "'till."
    • 11
  • They can be used as prepositions to describe time.
    • 12
  • The structure in this case is preposition + period of time.
    • 13
  • Here is a simple example sentence:
    • 14
  • Until yesterday, John did not realize that until and till
    • 15
  • had the same meaning.
    • 16
  • And also:
    • 17
  • Till yesterday, John did not realize that until and till had the same meaning.
    • 18
  • Until is used to show the time when a situation, activity, or period ends, as in:
    • 19
  • "I was up studying until 3 in the morning. I am so tired!"
    • 20
  • "Until" is also often used with deadlines - a time by which you must complete something.
    • 21
  • At work, your boss might give you a deadline. The boss may say:
    • 22
  • You have until Friday to finish the report.
    • 23
  • "Till" can be used in place of "until" in most sentences.
    • 24
  • Here is one such example:
    • 25
  • I can't wait till next week. I will finally get to see all my friends at school again!
    • 26
  • "Up to" is a bit more difficult to describe.
    • 27
  • It can act as a preposition or play a part in a phrasal verb or phrasal expression.
    • 28
  • But here are a few very general ideas.
    • 29
  • "Up to" can be used to show the place or level that is reached by something, as in:
    • 30
  • The mud was up to our knees!
    • 31
  • "Up to" can also mean as many or as much as a given number or amount.
    • 32
  • For example, imagine a person buys a very large car.
    • 33
  • The person might say:
    • 34
  • My car holds up to 12 people!
    • 35
  • Here is another example.
    • 36
  • Imagine you have just taken a major exam.
    • 37
  • You really want to know your results.
    • 38
  • But you have to wait. A worker at the testing center tells you:
    • 39
  • You will have to wait up to three days for your test results.
    • 40
  • The worker might also tell you this:
    • 41
  • You will have to wait until Monday for your test results.
    • 42
  • Notice that the worker uses "until" in this case because Monday is a time, not a number or amount.
    • 43
  • Of course, "up to" has many other meanings.
    • 44
  • But we can talk about those some other time!
    • 45
  • Well, Abrahan, we hope this helps to answer your question.
    • 46
  • And to our listeners everywhere, what question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
    • 47
  • And that's Ask a Teacher!
    • 48
  • I'm Armen Kassabian.
    • 1
  • This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Abrahan Ferrer, who is in Spain.
    • 2
  • Question:
    • 3
  • Hello there,
    • 4
  • I am writing to you because I am quite confused with these three options here: up to, until and till. I don't know how to use it properly. Could you explain these words to us, please? Thank you very much for your support in teaching us English. Keep it up!!
    • 5
  • Abrahan Ferrer, Spain
    • 6
  • Answer:
    • 7
  • Dear Abrahan,
    • 8
  • Thank you for your message!
    • 9
  • Let's start with "until," and "'till." They can be used as prepositions to describe time.
    • 10
  • The structure in this case is preposition + period of time. Here is a simple example sentence:
    • 11
  • Until yesterday, John did not realize that until and till
    • 12
  • had the same meaning.
    • 13
  • And also:
    • 14
  • Till yesterday, John did not realize that until and till had the same meaning.
    • 15
  • Until
    • 16
  • Until is used to show the time when a situation, activity, or period ends, as in:
    • 17
  • "I was up studying until 3 in the morning. I am so tired!"
    • 18
  • "Until" is also often used with deadlines - a time by which you must complete something. At work, your boss might give you a deadline. The boss may say:
    • 19
  • You have until Friday to finish the report.
    • 20
  • Till
    • 21
  • "Till" can be used in place of "until" in most sentences.
    • 22
  • Here is one such example:
    • 23
  • I can't wait till next week. I will finally get to see all my friends at school again!
    • 24
  • Up to
    • 25
  • "Up to" is a bit more difficult to describe. It can act as a preposition or play a part in a phrasal verb or phrasal expression.
    • 26
  • But here are a few very general ideas.
    • 27
  • "Up to" can be used to show the place or level that is reached by something, as in:
    • 28
  • The mud was up to our knees!
    • 29
  • "Up to" can also mean as many or as much as a given number or amount. For example, imagine a person buys a very large car. The person might say:
    • 30
  • My car holds up to 12 people!
    • 31
  • Here is another example. Imagine you have just taken a major exam. You really want to know your results. But you have to wait. A worker at the testing center tells you:
    • 32
  • You will have to wait up to three days for your test results.
    • 33
  • The worker might also tell you this:
    • 34
  • You will have to wait until Monday for your test results.
    • 35
  • Notice that the worker uses "until" in this case because Monday is a time, not a number or amount.
    • 36
  • Of course, "up to" has many other meanings. But we can talk about those some other time!
    • 37
  • Well, Abrahan, we hope this helps to answer your question.
    • 38
  • And to our listeners everywhere, what question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
    • 39
  • And that's Ask a Teacher!
    • 40
  • I'm Armen Kassabian.
    • 41
  • Armen Kasabian wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson and John Russell were the editors.
    • 42
  • Practice using the phrase 'up to' and the words 'until' and 'till' in different ways in the comments below.
    • 43
  • _______________________________________________________________
    • 44
  • Words in This Story
    • 45
  • preposition - n. a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object
    • 46
  • boss - n. the person whose job is to tell other workers what to do