un ‧ til S1 W1 /ʌnˈtɪl, ən-/ BrE AmE preposition , conjunction
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Origin: un- 'unto, until' + till ]
1 . if something happens until a particular time, it continues and then stops at that time:
The ticket is valid until March.
He waited until she had finished speaking.
Until recently, Anna worked as a teacher in Japan.
Up until last year, they didn’t even own a car.
2 . not until used to emphasize that something does not happen before a certain point in time or before something else has happened:
‘Can I go out and play now?’ ‘Not until you’ve done your homework.’
It was not until 1972 that the war finally came to an end.
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REGISTER
In everyday English, people often say till rather than until :
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I’ll wait till you get back.
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GRAMMAR
In a clause beginning with until that refers to the future, use the present tense or present perfect, not 'will':
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I will not buy the tickets until I hear from you.
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Add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved.
until now, so far
Until now is usually used to say that a situation has just ended or changed:
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Until now I had no one to tell things to (=I now have someone to tell things to) .
Do not use until now when the situation has not changed. Use so far :
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So far no one has claimed responsibility for the bombs.