until和till

龐 薇

這兩個連詞意義相同。肯定形式表示的意思是“做某事直至某時”,動詞必須是延續(xù)性的。否定形式表達(dá)的意思是“直至某時才做某事”,延續(xù)性或非延續(xù)性動詞都可以。 正確使用這兩個連詞的關(guān)鍵就在于,判斷句中的動詞該用肯定式還是否定式。

肯定句

I slept until midnight.

我一直睡,到半夜時醒了。

Wait till I call you.

等著我叫你。

(在肯定句中可用before代替until。如:Lets get in the wheat before the sun sets.)

否定句

She didnt arrive until 6 oclock.

她直到6點(diǎn)才到。

Dont get off the bus until it has stopped.

公共汽車停穩(wěn)后再下車。

I didnt manage to do it until you had explained how.

直到你教我后,我才會做。

1.until可用于句首,而till通常不用于句首。

Until you told me, I had heard nothing of what happened.

直到你告訴我以前,出了什么事我一點(diǎn)也不知道。

2.until when 疑問句中,until要放在句首。

—Until when are you staying?

你待到什么時候?

—Until next Monday.

待到下周一。

注意:否定句可用另外兩種句式表示。

1.not until …… 在句首,主句用倒裝。

Not until the early years of the 19th century did man know what heat is.

直到19 世紀(jì)初,人類才知道熱能是什么。

Not until I began to work did I realize how much time I had wasted.

直到開始工作,我才認(rèn)識到自己已蹉跎了多少歲月。

2.It is not until... that...

It is not until I began to work that I realized how much time I had wasted.