By-Until

Do your homework until/by 5 p.m. ???

He’s a very strong person; he can work until/by 5 o’clock every morning. ???

 by = no later than (you have a deadline)

You must do your homework by 6 p.m.
(make sure that at 6 p.m. the homework is written and finished; you have to do your homework
anytime before 6 p.m., latest at 5:59)

 by = at or before a particular moment; during the period until a particular time or date
We will send you the documents by Friday/ by the end of November.
( on Friday the documents need to be finished; you can keep working at those documents
starting from this moment, then on Monday, Tuesday…, even on Friday, but not later than a
specific moment/time on Friday)

By mid afternoon over 5000 people had visited the exhibition. (during the period until mid -
afternoon, 5000 had visited the exhibition)

 until = up to a particular moment (you include the period of time before the deadline);
to talk about things that will keep going on for a duration of time from a specific time to
another; if something happens until a particular time, you stop doing it at that time

We have until Friday to finish the report.

 until = to describe a situation in the period of time up to a particular moment

I’ll be in Paris until November.
Sometimes, both “until” and “by” are possible, but they differ in meaning:

He needs to be at the office until 10 o’clock.

(he is already at the office and he needs to stay there)

He needs to be at the office by 10 o’clock.

(he is not at the office, but he needs to be there latest at 10 o’clock)

I’ll be home by August. (I’ll be home before this time of the year)
I’ll be home until August. (I am already home and I’ll be staying here up to this time of the year