Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
________ the time Mr. Brown is sixty, he will have completed more than a hundred detective novels.

• A. When
• B. Until
• C. Over
• D. By

Answer 1

The correct option is D By

Option D: 'By' indicates a deadline or the end of a particular time period. It applies to the given sentence, which mentions the end of a time period 'the age of sixty'. Hence option D is correct.

Option A: 'When' also refers to time, but the moment/time is brief. It does not refer to a period of time. The given sentence focuses on an end of a time period "the time Mr. Brown is sixty". Hence option A is incorrect.

Option B: 'Until' refers to a moment or time, till which something happens or will happen. It refers to an activity that happens throughout, till a particular period of time. It does not fit the given sentence, because there is a slight difference of meaning. 'By' refers to an end of a time period whereas 'until' focuses on the action done till that time period. Hence B is incorrect.

Option C: 'Over' refers to an entire period of time, as opposed to the end of a time. The given sentence focuses on the latter. Hence C is incorrect.