>>>>>As for meanings, "through" is certainly inclusive. "Until" is ambiguous; it wouldn't be clear to me whether the later date is included or not.
>>>>
>>>>Hi,
>>>>Why is 'until' ambiguous. If we were talking time and I said 'until three o'clock' you surely wouldn't think I meant until four o'clock. What's different with dates - does anyone interpret 'until 2007' as meaning 'until the end of 2007'?
>>>>At least that's the way I'll think until I die <g>
>>>>Best,
>>>>Viv
>>>
>>>If someone says "from Monday until Friday," is Friday included?
>>To me, No.
>>
>>>Similarly, if they say "from the 12th until the 15th," is the 15th included?
>>Again, for me, No.
>>
>>>I lean toward yes, in both cases, but I know that it could mean that it ends upon the arrival of that day/date.
>>
>>Maybe it's ambiguous because it is so often wrongly used. Do you feel the same ambiguity with the time/year examples above?
>
>Going back to your examples:
>
>> 'until three o'clock'
>
>I agree that wouldn't mean until 3:59:59, but would it include 3:00:00 or end at 2:59:59?

Or end at 2:59:59.99999999999999..... Only logical meaning would be everything upto but not including 3:00:00

>
>> does anyone interpret 'until 2007' as meaning 'until the end of 2007'?
>
>Much less clear to me. What about "he worked there until 1957." Did he work there at all in 1957? Not clear.

Unless you are going to apply different meanings to the word 'until' then no, not at all in 1957. Arguably, of course, it could mean that he worked there until 23:59:59.99999999 recurring on December,31st, 1956!

IAC, I agree with you that in practice it is unclear what is meant - I just think that it shouldn't be...
Best,
Viv