For example:
By 2020, there will be a shortage of toilets in Germany.
Or:
Germany plans to eliminate all landfills by 2020.
According to dict.cc and Linguee, there seems to be 3 ways of doing it:
- bis 2020
- bis im Jahr 2020
- bis zum Jahr 2020
Are there any differences between them, and which one is the most appropriate? Please link any resources/articles if possible. It was hard finding info for this very basic question.
Please note: It also seemed that "bis 2020" could also mean "until 2020", instead of "by 2020". I am looking for the German equivalent of "by 2020".
For example, I am looking for:
All cars will be banned by 2020.
Instead of:
All cars will be banned until 2020.
Let's say the current year is 2010. The first sentence implies that not all cars are banned in 2010, but they will all be in the year 2020 (and probably forever after that). The second sentence implies that all cars are currently banned in 2010, and will be banned to the year 2020. But after 2020, the ban will be lifted.
More info: For example, if I say that a law will be active "by 2020", it means that it is not active now, but it will be from 2020 onward. Whereas if I say that a law will be active "until 2020", it means that it is active now, but only until/to 2020.
I'm looking for the German equivalent for the first sentences ("by").
EDIT
I have noticed that the "by 2020" in the first two examples are (unintentionally) slightly different in German. The first example seem to indicate that there is no shortage now, but in 2020, there will suddenly be a shortage. In this case "ab" is appropriate. The second example seem to indicate that the elimination of landfills have started, and in 2020, there will be none left. In this case "bis" is more appropriate. This was what I was trying to get.