Apparently this can mean:
We were there before 7 o'clock.
We were there until 7 o'clock.
That's two different circumstances.
"We were there before 7 o'clock" suggests we arrived shortly before seven o'clock.
"We were there until 7 o'clock" says we had been there for a while, then left at 7 o'clock.
Is there any way to distinguish which one is meant, other than context?
We were there before 7 o'clock.
We were there until 7 o'clock.
That's two different circumstances.
"We were there before 7 o'clock" suggests we arrived shortly before seven o'clock.
"We were there until 7 o'clock" says we had been there for a while, then left at 7 o'clock.
Is there any way to distinguish which one is meant, other than context?