She hid until after he was gone

Question

The answer; Elle s'est cachée jusqu'à ce qu'il soit parti. surely means ' she hid until he was gone'. 'After' is not in the sentence . Is it implied? in English there is a subtle difference between tghe two sentences.

Maarten Kamp · Answer

Chris,

the emphasis and temporal difference conveyed in English by using “ until “ or “ until after “ is indicated in French by the choice of tense in the secondary clause following ‘ jusqu’à ce que ‘.

In the sentence quoted in your question, the past subjunctive is used to reflect the fact that the primary clause action - hiding - continued until after the secondary clause action - leaving - had occurred/finished.

From the lesson

“ Regardless of the tense used in the main clause, the question is whether the main clause action will go on until the action after jusqu'à ce que happens, or until it has happened and stopped:

If it goes on until the moment the action happens, you'll use Le Subjonctif Présent.

If it goes on until after the action has happened and stopped, you'll use Le Subjonctif Passé. “

In English, “ she hid until he was leaving “ or “ she hid until he was gone/left/had gone ‘ are colloquial variants also, similar to the standard French versions, without using ‘ after ‘.