From July to August

Question

For example, if you will work somewhere starting on July 4th and ending on August 31st.

You work there for 2 months. But my question is:

Would you say:

I work here until September

(meaning when September starts you don't work there anymore)

OR

I suggest these two, "I had been working here until September" (if it happened in the past), or "I will be working here until September" (if it is going to happen) — David Washington, Jun 21, 2017 at 16:51
This isn't really an English question, just a logical question. As with any other language, you just have to be more specific if you want to be sure you're understood correctly: "until the end of August", "until the start of September". But if I had to choose between one of the two proposed sentences I would say that "until September" gives the intended meaning because "until X" generally stops once X happens. And no particular reason to use the present progressive; it and the present simple would be equally good in my (Canadian) dialect. — Luke Sawczak, Jun 21, 2017 at 17:09
@LukeSawczak I think it's even more a question of idiom. In spoken NAmE, you'll hear the present simple, present continuous, or future continuous in such contexts. To those who don't encounter actual spoken idiomatic English every day, though, the present simple is going to look odd, especially when it's written down. — P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica, Jun 21, 2017 at 18:51

SovereignSun · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-22 12:17:32Z

-1

You can say:

"I am working here until (till) the end of August" or
"I am working here until (till) September 1". (The day makes the sentence unambiguous)

You could rephrase the second example to:

You can also use Going to, the Future Simple or the Future Continuous.

answered Jun 21, 2017 at 16:34

SovereignSun

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3

What's wrong with the present simple here?
– Nathan Tuggy
Jun 21, 2017 at 17:05
2

The present simple is perfectly idiomatic in both of the OP's examples. You are equally or slightly more likely to hear the present continuous or even the future continuous, but it's a coin flip.
– P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
Jun 21, 2017 at 18:48
4

until the end of can be shortened and simplified to through: I am working here through the end of August. Also, I wouldn't mention September unless I was working there in September; I think "till September" is ambiguous.
– J.R. ♦
Jun 21, 2017 at 18:53

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