Different understandings of "by"in English and Chinese
When my teacher writes in his e-mail"...send me your homework by Friday" ,I get confused at a moment and come up with this question: Does "by Friday"mean till 00:00 on Friday?Or,till 24:00 on Friday including the day of Friday?

Because as for me,a Chinese,I must prefer the later one,including the day of Friday.I wonder if there is any different understanding in other culture.

Question

Different understandings of "by"in English and Chinese
When my teacher writes in his e-mail"...send me your homework by Friday" ,I get confused at a moment and come up with this question: Does "by Friday"mean till 00:00 on Friday?Or,till 24:00 on Friday including the day of Friday?

Because as for me,a Chinese,I must prefer the later one,including the day of Friday.I wonder if there is any different understanding in other culture.

Answer

Yes, it means 'Friday at the latest', so it includes Friday, or at least until the college office closes on Friday.

If your teacher didn't want to include Friday, he/she would say 'before Friday'.

Answer

反正在中国是包括的。周五之前，包括周五当日。 不过外国人怎么看就不知道了～好好奇！