until
prep
ʌnˈtɪl prep
1
Until till Till
if something happens until a particular time, it continues and then stops at that time and have the same meaning. is more usual in spoken English, and is not used in formal writing. until 和 till 意思相同。 till 在英语口语中更常用，不用于正式的书面语中
The ticket is valid until March.
这张票的有效期一直到 3 月份。
He waited until she had finished speaking.
他一直等到她讲完。
Until recently, Anna worked as a teacher in Japan.
直到最近，安娜一直在日本当老师。
Up until last year, they didn’t even own a car.
一直到去年，他们连汽车也没有。
Tom waited until he saw the flag.
汤姆一直等到看见旗子。
I’ll sit here till you get back.
我会坐在这里直到你回来。
2
not until
used to emphasize that something does not happen before a certain point in time or before something else has happened. 直到〔用于强调某事在某个具体的时刻或者另一件事发生以前没有发生〕
‘Can I go out and play now?’ ‘Not until you’ve done your homework.’
“我现在可以出去玩了吗？”“家庭作业做完以后才行。”
It was not until 1972 that the war finally came to an end.
直到 1972 年战争才终于结束。