I have to admit that this is one of the trickier ones for me, because I (incorrectly) believed that the correct use case was ’til and not till when indicating the time when something would happen. My trusty friends at the Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster helped clear this one up for me once and for all and I want to pass along what I’ve learned. 

Until has two forms: preposition and conjunction. It has two primary functions when used as a preposition: 

1. It is used as a function word to indicate continuance to a specified time (such as: until the end of the day) 🌅
2. It is used to indicate before a specific time (such as: not open until ten) ⏰ 

As a conjunction, until is used to indicate “up to the time that” (such as: they can play until the street lights come on.) 🛝

Here’s where it can get tricky.

Many people, myself included, mistakenly identified the word till as an incorrect abbrevation of the word until. I always believed that till with two letter ls meant cash register and not until. Whoops. Major lesson learned.

In actuality, till has been used in the English language for an even longer time than until. It can be used as a preposition or conjunction in the same way as until. For example:

🌅 Let’s stay till the end of the day. (preposition)
 ⏰ The store doesn’t open till ten today. (preposition)
🛝 They can play till the street lights come on. (conjunction)

Till also has three unrelated uses and definitions. It can be a verb or two different nouns. Those definitions are:

🚜Till (verb): to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops

💵Till (noun): a money drawer or storage system; a cash register

🧊Till (noun): glacial drift

Now let’s talk about recommended use of all of these words. Style guides including Chicago agree that the correct words to use are until and till. In some cases, the abbreviation form ’til can be used as a stylistic choice. ‘Till should never be used. 

Here are some additional examples of ways to use these words correctly!

✨I wonder ’til I’m wide awake.

💍I’ll still see it until I die.

👧It’s fine to fake it ’til you make it. ’Til you do, ’til it’s true.

💘We’ll be together till death do us part. 

📚I’m going to read until I fall asleep. 

I hope this helps! Give me a shout if you have any questions or just want to chat!

Until next time!

Sam Speed Edits