Till and until are interchangeable as prepositions and as conjunctions, although until is somewhat more formal.
- The song “Till We Meet Again” was the closing number for the popular variety program Don Messer’s Jubilee, which aired weekly on CBC television during the sixties.
- The team worked until (or till) midnight on the proposal.
Avoid ’til and up until.
- We have a bumper crop this year; we’ll be picking berries till (not ‘til) the cows come home.
- Until (not Up until) now, this neighbourhood has had no problems with crime.
Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Search by related themes
Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.
Related links
- Writing Tips Plus (home page)
- Writing tools
- Language Navigator (for fast access to language tips)
- TERMIUM Plus®