until recently and in/at

[jiang]

Dear teachers,


I have two questions to ask:

No. 1
In the sentence “I had a busy day at the office". Can I say “ in the office’? If I can’t could you please tell me what’s the difference between the two?


No.2
The sentence “ He has been ill until recently” means he was ill some time ago but he has recovered. Is that right? And what about the expression “ Not until recently”? I should say “ Not until recently was he ill” which means he began to feel ill a short while ago and he is still ill. Is that right?






Looking forward to hearing from you.



Thank you in advance.



Jiang

[Casiopea]

Either at or in. Both are acceptable:

1) I had a busy day at the office/in the office.


until sounds odd coupled with recently.

2) He has been ill recently.

[jiang]

Dear Casiopea,
Thank you very much for your reply. The problem is that my examples were taken from the textbook and a dictionary. Maybe they are such cases but they are rarely used as you said.

Jiang

Originally Posted by Casiopea

Either at or in. Both are acceptable:

1) I had a busy day at the office/in the office.


until sounds odd coupled with recently.

2) He has been ill recently.