Until and till mean the same thing: up to a certain moment, or up to the time when something happens. Till sounds more informal, so until is the safer choice in essays, business emails and exams. Both can come before a time (until Monday) or before a whole clause (until the film ends).
until or till — can you pick the right one?
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until/till + time or event; until/till + subject + verb; not + verb + until + time
- The museum café is open until six, so we can have a coffee after the tour.
- I'll be at the office till late tonight, so start dinner without me.
- The exam results won't be published until the end of the month.
What changed
First versionLet's stay inside until the rain doesn't stop.
RevisionLet's stay inside until the rain stops.
It can feel natural to add a negative here, but until already carries the idea “up to the moment when something happens”, so a second negative is wrong. You need an ordinary positive verb, and in the present tense even though the sentence is about the future: until the rain stops.
Until means an action continues right up to the stated moment: The shop is open until eight. By sets a deadline, the latest time something must happen: Send me the file by Friday. The file could arrive on Wednesday too. Both are about a time limit, which is why they get confused.
Your turn
Our office stays open ___ 7 p.m. on Thursdays, so you can drop in after work.
Show the answer
until — The office stays open right up to 7 p.m., which is a continuing situation, so the answer is until. By would set a deadline by which something has to happen, such as the office opening, but stays open describes something that lasts, not a single event.
Write about your plans for this evening or the weekend. Use until to say up to what time you will be busy with something, and add what you will do afterwards.
I'll be at my sister's birthday party until ten, and after that I'll take a taxi home.
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