A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases, or sentences. The easiest conjunctions to remember are "and" and "or." But there are conjunctions that do more than just connect—they give meaning to a sentence by expressing the time that something is happening: conjunctions of time.

You can easily tell if a conjunction of time is being used in a sentence because the sentence will tell you when something happens or for how long something is occurring. If you can make a "when" or "for how long" question from the sentence, and that question can be answered by the other half of the sentence, then you know that the sentence is using a conjunction of time.

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When

When I flew in on the float plane, they were all there on the boat.

Caption 4, Alaska Revealed - Endless Wave

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Q: When were they all there on the boat? A: When I flew in on the float plane.

Before

Be sure to put your mask on before helping them.

Caption 18, Air New Zealand - An Unexpected Briefing

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Q: When should I be sure to put my mask on? A: Before I help them.

After

They have to defend their breed from predators

for up to four weeks after they're born.

Captions 49-50, Evolution - Deep Ocean

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Q: When do they have to defend their breed? A: After they are born.

While

We have to tread lightly while filming.

Caption 40, Nature & Wildlife - Search for the Ghost Bear

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Q: When do we have to tread lightly? A: While filming.

As

We paddle along and we pick up trash as we go

Caption 23, Alison's Adventures - Your Passport To the World (LONDON)

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Q: When do we pick up trash? A: As we go.

By the time

By the time I got to New York,

I was living like a king

Captions 10-11, David Bowie - Lazarus

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Q: When were you living like a king? A: By the time I got to New York.

Note that some conjunctions of time are also phrases, not just a single word.

Until, till

The conjunctions of time "until" and "till" are interchangeable and you may use either word. Many people wrongly think that "till" is just shortened version of "until," but in fact "till" is the older word, in use since the 9th century. The variant "until" has been in use since the 12th century. These two words are unusual in that they express a length of time rather than a point in time, so we should ask the question using "for how long" instead of "when."

She sat until she broke the chair.

Caption 28, Story Hour - Goldilocks and the 3 Bears

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Q: For how long was she sitting? A: Until she broke the chair.

So he sat on a chair,

till he died of despair,

Captions 20-21, Sigrid explains - The Limerick

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Q: For how long was he sitting? A: Till he died of despair.

Further Learning
Don't despair, and by all means stay healthy! Go to Yabla English and find other sentences (not questions) that contain the conjunctions of time "when," "before," "after," "while," "as," "by the time," "until" and "till." Write these sentences down and practice making questions and answers from the sentences like we did above. You can also read more about "until" and "till" on the Merriam-Webster website.

Homonyms are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings and usages. This can be confusing sometimes as one must rely on context to figure out which word is meant or should be used. 

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Even native speakers sometimes fail to use the homonyms "there," "their," and "they're" correctly. Here is a quick review of which one is appropriate for which occasion. 

1) The word "there" is used to refer to a physical or abstract location.

When I flew in on the float plane, they were all there on the boat.

When I flew in on the float plane, they were all there on the boat.

Caption 4, Alaska Revealed - Endless Wave

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Also, it is commonly combined with a conjugation of “to be” or a modal verb to discuss the existence of something.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

Caption 28, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day - Obama's Speech

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I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus.

I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus.

Caption 9, A Charlie Brown Christmas - Opening

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2) "Their" is a possessive adjective used before a noun when the subject is "they." With "their," we are speaking about something that belongs to two or more people.

What are their names? -Their names are Naya and Alex.

What are their names? -Their names are Naya and Alex.

Caption 14, Caralie and Annie - Get to Know Each Other

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Their goal is a plan to finally help humanity reduce its carbon footprint.

Their goal is a plan to finally help humanity reduce its carbon footprint.

Caption 3, Green TV - What Is COP21?

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3) "They’re" is a contraction of "they are" used to refer to two or more people in the third person. It is especially useful for shortening sentences in the present continuous tense.

I think they're nice.

I think they're nice.

Caption 12, Comic-Con 2015 - Jennifer Lawrence

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They're playing a game on the lawn.

They're playing a game on the lawn.

Caption 10, Jessica - in Prospect Park

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Further Learning
Check out the examples above on Yabla English to get a better sense of the full context for the use of "there," "their," and "they're." Try to write a few sentences in which you use two or even all three of these words to solidify your understanding. An example would be: "They're not sure when they will get there. It depends on when their plane lands."