How long before OR how long until

[Balkenende]

In the following sentence:

How long before the light of stars fades?

...could I also use:

How long until the light of stars fades?

Are they interchangeable or is there an essential difference in meaning?
And would I need 'will' in either of these sentences?

Thank you,
Joost

[bhaisahab]

In the following sentence:

How long before the light of stars fades?

...could I also use:

How long until the light of stars fades?

Are they interchangeable or is there an essential difference in meaning?
And would I need 'will' in either of these sentences?

Thank you,
Joost

You could use either "until" or "before. You don't need "will", however, you could rewrite it using it.
It's not a very natural sentence, though.

[eunice65078]

Depending on what you are asking (star light fading at dawn? star light fading out forever?), to be more natural, you might say "How long will it be before/until the light of stars fade?"

I'm not a teacher, but have used the language at work and home for many years...

[Balkenende]

It's part of a poem, where I have the freedom to be a little less 'natural'. ;)

[Balkenende]

Thanks. As I said above, it's part of poem, and I don't have room for 'will it be' in that part of the sentence (the line of the poem).

[emsr2d2]

If you weren't writing a poem where, as you say, you can write pretty much what you want, I would say it should be written:

How long until the starlight fades?
How long until the light of the stars fades?

[Balkenende]

If you weren't writing a poem where, as you say, you can write pretty much what you want, I would say it should be written:

How long until the starlight fades?
How long until the light of the stars fades?

Well, not whatever I want. But you have to struggle with number of syllables, rhythm etc. And you can put things a little more poetically.

But otherwise, yes, I would write what you wrote!

[Rover_KE]

Can you appreciate, Balkenende, that it would have been more helpful for us to know that you were writing a poem in message #1 rather than #4?

Rover