本集 “一分鐘英語” 介紹用來說明動(dòng)作發(fā)生時(shí)間的詞語 —— “until” 和 “by”。雖然這兩個(gè)詞都可以譯成 “到……時(shí)”,但它們的用法卻不同?!癠ntil” 表示某事在未來的某個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)前持續(xù)發(fā)生;“by” 表示某事在未來某個(gè)時(shí)間或最后期限前發(fā)生。聽主持人 Kee 講解 “until” 和 “by” 之間的區(qū)別。
Hi, guys! This is Kee from BBC Learning English. And today, I'm going to tell you the differences between until and by.
We use until to talk about doing something up to a certain point in time. If I say: 'I have to take care of my dog until 5pm', it means I will start taking care of my dog now and stop taking care of it at 5pm.
On the other hand, we use by to talk about doing something before a future time or a deadline. If I say: 'I have to finish an essay by 5pm', it means I can start any time, but I will make sure that at 5pm I have finished writing the essay. So, I may even finish it at 3pm or any time before 5.
So, we use until to describe doing something up to a certain point in time, and we use by to describe doing something before a future time or a deadline.
1 Until
Until is used to talk about doing something up to a certain point in time.
“Until” 用來表示 “在某個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)之前,一直做某事”。
I have to take care of my dog until 5pm.
Until the rain stops, we can't go to the beach.
I will be working until this evening. We can meet for dinner after that.
2 By
By is used to talk about doing something before a future time or deadline.
“By” 用來表示 “在未來某個(gè)時(shí)間或最后期限之前做某事”。
I have to finish an essay by 5pm.
The council expects the bridge to be finished by December.
By the time I come back, I want this room clean.