までに,　まえに and うちに to express “before doing sth/sth happens”

Question

I've come across this sentence:

主人が帰ってくる までに 晩御飯の買い物と支度をしなければいけません.　

a) I would have used まえに instead of までに. Is it correct? How does the meaning change?

b) Furthermore, is it correct to say : "主人が帰ってこないうちに晩御飯の買い物と支度をしなければいけません" ?

c) Can you say "買い物を支度しなければいけません" and "買い物の支度をしなければいけません"?

My understanding is that まで (in this instance) it means "until", まえ means "before" and that うち gives the feeling of "inside" or "within". まで and まえ still seem correct (when swapped out in this example sentence), to me. But I'm not sure about swapping in うち in place of まで/まえ

sawa · Accepted Answer · 2012-06-20 12:08:06Z

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Provided that the obvious typos are corrected as I did,

a It is correct. 前に is before, までに is by. I cannot feel any difference in the meaning.

b It is correct.

c The former is wrong. The latter is correct.

answered Jun 20 '12 at 12:08

sawa
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