67 Temporal Clauses

A Temporal Clause is composed of the Independent Clause and the Dependent Clause, which are linked by time connectors. These connectors refer to a specific point of time. {see Temporal Clause, A2 Level}

Connectors

• As soon as;
• Once;
• Until.

1. As soon as
   • As soon as the civil war started, I left the city.
     I left the city as soon as the civil war started.
   • As soon as he woke up, he prayed.
     He prayed as soon as he woke up.
   • As soon as we find about the murderer, we will start searching for him.
     We will start searching for him as soon as we find about the murderer.
2. Once
   • Once I become the embassador, I will call the president.
     I will call the president once I become the embassador.
   • Once he kills her, he will be sent to jail.
     He will be sent to jail once he kills her.
   • Once the priest started praying, they stopped talking.
     They stopped talking once the priest started praying.
3. Until
   • Until the water evaporates, don’t turn off the oven.
     Don’t turn off the oven until the water evaporates.
   • Until she finishes studying ancient history, she won’t study medieval history.
     She won’t study medieval history until she finishes studying ancient history.
   • Until they started researching, we didn’t know anything about the universe.
     We didn’t know anything about the universe until they started researching.

Some examples of time connectors that are used to link to events in time (future) are:

1. As soon as is used to show that the first clause (event) should happen right after the second;
2. Once is used to show that the first clause (event) should happen right after the second;
3. Until is used to show that the first clause (event) will finish as the second one starts.

A Temporal Clause is usually composed of two parts: The Independent Clause and the Dependent Clause, which are linked by time connectors. These connectors refer to a specific point of time.

There are two structures used in Temporal Clauses:

• Connector + clause 1 (Subject+verb) + comma (,) + clause 2 (Subject + verb).
• Clause 1 (Subject+verb) + connector + clause 2 (Subject + verb);

For example:
— “I worked for 30 years until I retired.” = I worked for 30 years and after I got retired.
— “As soon as we entered the house, it started to rain.” = First we entered the house then it started to rain.

Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.