I'm told that using count till a hundred is improper grammar. What's the correct preposition?
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In Britain we don't count till anything. We count up to.... – WS2 Oct 31 '14 at 16:21
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In North America you count to; count till suggests you stop at a certain time rather than a certain number. – choster Oct 31 '14 at 16:37
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1@choster Shop till you drop—count till you… rebound? – Janus Bahs Jacquet Oct 31 '14 at 17:49
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Shouldn't it be 'til? – Marv Mills Oct 31 '14 at 19:37
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2@MarvMills No, till. See What is the difference between “till” and “until”? – choster Oct 31 '14 at 22:06
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2Well I never! Every day's a school day :) – Marv Mills Oct 31 '14 at 23:36
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@WS2 Some people count till they run out of sheep. :) – tchrist Nov 01 '14 at 03:54
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till is an informal variant of until. Oxford Dictionaries says:
Less formal way of saying until.
They both refer to ending at a particular time or event, not a position. So you could say
Count till you get to 100.
because you get to 100 is an event. But you wouldn't say
Count till 100.
because 100 is a number, not a time or event. In that case you would say
Count to 100.
Barmar
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Please cite a reference supporting this notion that till is somehow “informal” when used as a preposition, a conjunction, or an adverb. The OED says only that it is “Characteristically northern in reference to place or purpose (though in ME. occasionally midl. or south.); in reference to time, general Eng. from c 1300, though now often superseded by the compound until.”** Even if it is now often superseded, that does not mean it is “informal”, and so I can but wonder why you say that. – tchrist Nov 01 '14 at 05:41
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Till,is a preposition meaning up to the time of —
Simply count to.... It is the common usage trend which will not raise any eyebrows.
Misti
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