By the time

[tufguy]

Hi guys,

Can we say "By the time I started working here, I haven't been able to sleep well"?

 

[Tdol]

No,you can't. You could use Since I started.

 

[tufguy]

If some body asks me "Since when have you started doing this" . Can I say "By the time I have joined this org" or "Since I have joined this org". when can we use "By" and how"?

 

[Tdol]

Can I say "By the time I have joined this org"

No.

"Since I have joined this org"

Use Since I joined.

By sets a limit. If you say By the time I joined, you mean in the period before you joined- By the time I joined the organisation, I had paid for three years' membership.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Is it correct to say 'by the time I quit the organisation, I will have learned much'?

 

[emsr2d2]

As long as you and the listener know that you are using "By the time I quit" to refer to the future, yes. It's one of those potentially ambiguous sentences at the beginning. "By the time I quit the organisation, I had learnt a lot" is also perfectly possibly because the past, present and future of "to quit" are identical.

 

[tufguy]

So we can say "I will have learned a lot by the time I leave this company" and it is safe to use "Since" for past instead of "By".

 

[Tdol]

How do you get to that position given https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/211407-By-the-time?p=1087729#post1087729? You can use the past with by, but not in the way you wanted to use it.