Conjunction: By and until, By the time

I. By (+a time) =not later than. (e.g. I posted the letter today, so they should receive it by Monday. (= on or before Monday, not later than Monday))

I1. We use until (or till) to say how long a situation continues. (e.g. Shall we go now?' 'No, let's wait until (or till) it stops raining.)
a. Something continues until a time in the future. (e.g. Jon will be away until Monday. (so he'll be back on Monday))
b. Something happens by a time in the future. (e.g. Jon will be back by Monday. (= he'll be back not later than Monday))

I2. can say 'by the time something happens'. (e.g. It's not worth going shopping now. By the time we get to the shops, they will be closed. (= the shops will close between now and the time we get there))
a. can say 'by the time something happened' (for the past). (e.g. Jane's car broke down on the way to the party last night. By the time she arrived, most of the other guests had gone. (= it took her a long time to get to the party and most of the guests went home during this time))
b. Also by then or by that time. (e.g. Jane finally arrived at the party at midnight, but by then (or by that time), most of the guests had gone.)

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Idiom 365

When It Rains, It Pours: one bad thing happens, followed by a lot of other bad things
Example: Tom had a terrible accident. Then, his wife had a heart attack. Really when it rains, it pours.

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