ネイティブが教える！ビジネス英語テクニック -　How to Use ‘Until’ and ‘By’ Correctly
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Welcome to the first in a series of short English grammar blogs.

In today's lesson, we will explain the difference between "by" and "until".

We use ‘by’ to talk about things that must be done before a deadline:

• My manager told me that the report must be handed in by tomorrow morning = before tomorrow morning comes.
  
  
• The meeting should finish by the time the client arrives = before the client         gets there.
  
  

We tend to use ‘by’ when we want to talk about goals, targets or deadlines.

We use ‘until’ to talk about an action that will continue from now to a deadline:

• Jim explained to Sarah that they had to continue hiring for jobs in the Tokyo office until they met the quota = hiring will continue from now to when the quota is full.

• I think you should continue looking for a job in Japan until you find one = don't stop looking from now to when you get a job
• 

We also tend to use ‘until’ for things that will continue for a while or will take time to do.

Next week, we will look at another common problem people encounter with English grammar.

Can you spot the mistakes in these sentences?

1. Susan hasn't come back to the office yet. I think she has been to a seminar for the day.
2. A: Are you going to visit your client today? B: It's okay. I have already gone.

We will look at the answers next time.