"Not until" with hasta
In English, we use a negative sentence to say an action won't happen until a certain time. In many parts of Latin America, you express this same idea using an affirmative sentence with hasta (until) followed by a time expression. This shows that the action begins at that time.
| We do not milk the cow until the morning. | Ordeñamos la vaca hasta la mañana. |
Let's see this in action with the steps of traditional cheese making, from waiting for the milk to curdle (cuajar) to separating the curd (la cuajada) and the whey (el suero).
| The milk does not curdle until noon. | La leche cuaja hasta el mediodía. |
| We do not separate the curd and the whey until tomorrow. | Separamos la cuajada y el suero hasta mañana. |
| I do not press the cheese until the afternoon. | Prenso el queso hasta la tarde. |
You can easily contrast something happening right now with a delayed action using this same affirmative structure:
| We salt the cheese today, but we do not age it until next month. | Salamos el queso hoy, pero lo añejamos hasta el próximo mes. |
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