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By and Until

Basics

German bis can be translated by English by or until.

By indicates the latest time at which a momentary event may happen:

The guests will be here by midday. (They will arrive no later than midday.)

Until indicates the time at which a continuous condition may end:

The guests will be here until midday. (They will leave at midday.)

The German Die gäste werden hier bis Mittag sein. can have both these meanings. To avoid the confusion, we must make the meaning clear by changing the verb:

Die gäste werden hier bis Mittag ankommen. (They will arrive by midday.)

Die gäste werden hier bis Mittag bleiben. (They will stay until midday.)

Many Germans always use English until to translate the German bis. This often causes an error like the following:

**You must fill in the form until Friday.

This is wrong because filling in a form is a momentary event. The last time at which this may happen is expressed with by, not until:

You must fill in the form by Friday.

See also:
Prepositions.

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