Until/before I am back

Question

Is there any difference between:
1-Don't talk to him before I am back.
2-Don't talk to him until I am back.

Do either of these sentences imply that you should talk to him when I have come back?

Gratefully,
Navi.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

navitasanDo either of these sentences imply that you should talk to him when I have come back?

Neither implies that you should talk to him (i.e., that it is a good idea to talk to him, that it would be wise to talk to him) when you have come back. In the ordinary-language meaning of "imply", they both imply that you will talk to him when you have come back. If there is any "should" about it, it's embedded within the imperative construction that implies you should wait to talk to him (in the general sense that we should obey commands).

In the strict logical meaning of "imply" (entailment), there is no implication that you should or that you will talk to him when you've come back. That is, your talking to him after he comes back is not a logical consequence of the command "Don't talk to him before/until I am back". Imperatives have no logical consequences (because they are not even "propositions" in the logical sense). Further, even obeying that command does not entail that you talk to him at all when you come back because there is nothing in the command that orders you to do anything at all when the time period is finished in which you were not to speak. When an implication of that kind is sensed by the speaker or listener, it's an "ordinary-language" implication, not a strictly logical implication.

I thought you might be interested in both kinds of implication since you so often ask questions about which propositions imply which other propositions.

CJ

Navitasan · Answer

Great reply CalifJim,

I really appreciate it. You know me well!
Thank you very very much!

Navi.

Until/before I am back

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