to leave before it got dark ?

English translation: First option ( but either COULD be possible)

10:26 Oct 16, 2008

English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

English term or phrase: to leave before it got dark ?

a sentence in a grammerbook of adjectives follows:
"He was anxious to leave before it got dark"
is it logically correct OR it was better to say:
"He was anxious to leave after it got dark"

Hakki Ucar KudoZ activity Questions: 99 (1 open) (1 closed without grading) Answers: 60 Türkiye
Local time: 16:58

Selected answer:First option ( but either COULD be possible)

Explanation:

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Note added at 1 min (2008-10-16 10:28:00 GMT)
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In some contexts, the second option could be fine, but the first option makes more sense and is more common.

Selected response from:

Victoria Porter-Burns
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:58

Grading comment

Thanks everybody, it is clear now.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +4

The sentence in the grammar book is logically correct.

Jack Doughty

4 +2

First option ( but either COULD be possible)

Victoria Porter-Burns

both, depending on context

Edith Kelly

Answers

1 min confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

First option ( but either COULD be possible)

Victoria Porter-Burns
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:58
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English

Grading comment

Thanks everybody, it is clear now.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Ken Cox: Yes -- the meanings are different, and the second meaning would normally be phrased differently.\\Agree with your understanding, but IMO phrasiing such as 'he became anxious to leave after it got dark' would be more common or at least less ambiguous.

2 mins

-> Thanks Ken. The way I read the second, though, is that after it got dark (i.e. he realised how late it was, etc.) he wanted to leave - so fine as it is. Of course it could also be 'he wanted to wait until it got dark before leaving'. Either way, thanks!

agree

MoiraB: first option is correct (he really wanted to leave before night fell, i.e. he didn't want to be out in the dark). Your second is possible, but has the opposite meaning (before vs after) so it's not an alternative to the first sentence given.

10 mins

-> No, definitely not an alternative - second would be used in a totally different situation, as I said. Thanks Moira!

4 mins confidence:

both, depending on context

Explanation:
before it got dark - he wanted to get away in the daylight
after it got dark - he wanted to wait until darkness before he absented himself

without context, impossible to say.

Edith Kelly
Switzerland
Local time: 15:58
Works in field
Native speaker of:

German,

English
PRO pts in category: 26

5 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

The sentence in the grammar book is logically correct.

Explanation:
The second sentence doesn't really come into consideration at all, since it means something quite different, though there is nothing wrong with that one grammatically either.

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:58
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 370

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