You're driving by an auto repair shop and you see that a sign above the shop is broken. Some people are fixing it.
How can you ask how long is left?
- How long before they fix it?
- How long until they fix it?
- How long before they've fixed it?
- How long until they've fixed it?
1 and 2 (simple) don't work if the repair is already underway. 3 and 4 (perfect) are OK.
To be honest, I doubt that. I need some proof. I don't actually think this is true that you can't use "until/before they
fix it" if somebody is already fixing it. Why?
Here's why. I was doing some Duolingo and found this situation, a man says to his child,
"You're growing up so fast" and then after a short while the kid asks a girl who's helping them pick out clothes if he can hang out with her when he
!grows up
!.
Father to his child: You're growing up so fast!
The child to a girl: Can I hang out with you when I grow up?
He doesn't use the perfect tense "when I've grown up", but the simple tense "when I grow up" even though he's just been told by his father that he's growing up so fast. So, having seen this example from Duolingo, I assume that using the simple aspect to indicate the completion moment is natural even if the action is already happening.
(The person being asked this question is growing up).
1A. What do you want to be when you
grow up? (simple)
2A. What do you want to be when you
've grow
n up? (perfect)
("They" are already fixing it).
1B. How long before/until they
fix it? (simple)
2B. How long before/until they
've fix
ed it? (perfect)
Is there somebody here who can logically help me with this matter?