Lesson Four

This one is very tricky, folks. It’s a mistake I see in books, television, and pretty much every form of media out there. Unfortunately, since it is so widely accepted, this word could be used both ways. The correct way, however, is explained below.

Till really means to plow, to dig, to cultivate. It’s a verb, it’s an action.

Ex.: It was that time of year again when John’s dad woke up at dawn to till the fields. The crops had to be cultivated at just the right time.

‘Til, on the other hand, is a contraction, an abbreviation for the word until. It’s a conjunction meaning up to the time or when, and a preposition meaning onward or before. The word is only three letters with an apostrophe (‘) before the ‘T’. It’s really simple: if the word is at the beginning of a sentence, the T is still capitalized (‘Til), but anywhere else in the sentence, it’s lowercase (‘til). But remember: if you aren't sure whether to use 'til, just use the entire word 'UNTIL'.

Ex. (conj): James didn't turn his phone off 'til the meeting was halfway over ... when it rang.

Ex. 2 (prep): “I swear,” Amber scoffed. “Sometimes I think they make out from dusk ‘til dawn.”

The problem with till and ‘til is that TILL can be used as the verb (to cultivate) and the preposition and conjunction (till we meet again, my love), but ‘til can only be used as the latter two. Farmers don’t ‘til their harvest; therein lies the confusion.

The correct way is to use both words in the way they were intended, till for cultivation and ‘til as the contraction for until. But, it’s up to you. Go with what you feel most comfortable with, but just make sure the farmer isn’t ‘til-ing his crops.