deadline

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi. Here I have a deadline-related question. If I have to reply to someone within a certain period, for example, by Wednesday, is it possible to say, 1) “I have until Wednesday to let him know?” How about a few other versions?

  1. I have some time until Wednesday to let him know.
  2. I have to let him know by Wednesday.
  3. I don’t have to let him know until Wednesday.
  4. Wednesday is the deadline for me to reply to him.

I hope these sentences mean the same thing.

2

Only 2 is not correct. It’s ungrammatical to use ‘sometime until Wednesday’ in that context.

3

Thank you for your reply. Will you tell me why 1) is OK? Can I have things like until Wednesday? Also, I’d like to know how you’d feel if I said “I have a few more days before I have to let him know.”

4
  1. Yes, in this context ‘until Wednesday’ is okay. It means that you have to let him know sometimes between the present and (the end of) that day.

‘I have a few more days before I have to let him know.’ is fine too.