till 和 until 都可以用作介词和连词。不知它们有什么区别。
till 和 until 的语义是相同的。但是,till 主要用在口语中,而且大都用作介词。有一份英语用法调查报告指出,until 的出现次数是 till 的两倍。在介词用法和连词用法中都是如此。应当注意,用在句首时大都使用 until。
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I shall go on working until [till] next week. (Palmer) 我将一直工作到下周。
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Let's wait until [till] the rain stops. (Palmer) 让我们等到雨停吧。
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I worked in America till/until 1979. (CGEL) 我在美国一直工作到 1979 年。
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It was not until late afternoon that they began to tackle the major problem. (Priestley) 直到后下午很晚他们才开始讨论主要问题。
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Until you told me, I had heard nothing of what happened. 直到你告诉我,我才知道发生了什么事。
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Until I was twenty-one I never missed attending night school four nights a week. (Pollitt) 在我二十一岁以前，每周四个晚上到夜校学习，我从未缺过课。
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Until we know the facts, we can do nothing further. (Wood) 在我们了解到事实真相之前, 我们不能再干任何事情。
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Larry polished the table until you could see his face in it. (CGEL) 拉瑞擦桌子,一直擦到桌子能照出他的脸。
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The frog inflated him more and more, until finally he bust. (Wood) 青蛙不停地鼓胀他的肚子，直到最后胀破了。
另外，在否定句中也大都使用 until (not until, not...until)，使用 till 的情况较少：
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But as a matter of fact, I did not begin work until he had gone. (Doyle) 事实上, 直到他走了, 我才开始工作。
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It was not until I had read your letter that I understood the true state of affairs. (Eckersley) 直到我读了你的信,我才明白了事情的真实情况。
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Not till he got home did he realize that he had lost his keys. (PEG) 直到了家他才发现钥匙丢了。