Find similar content

#grammar #for #since #ago @fluencyinenglish For, Since and Ago – How to Talk About them When you’re talking or writing in English, describing the passage of time is going to be a common topic that’ll come up a lot. Whether you’re talking about a holiday you just went on, what qualifications you did, or something as simple as describing a recipe, they all need you to relate to time in some way or another! So let’s take a closer look at three of the ways we can talk about time, using some of the most common words: ‘for,’ ‘since’, and ‘ago’. What do they mean and how are they used? Let’s find out! @fluencyinenglish For ‘For’ is used for a very specific period of time that has a start and finish. If something has happened through a particular duration, then you can use the word ‘for’, along with the length of time described, which could be in any unit of time – such as minutes, hours, or days. For example: “I was waiting in line for over 4 hours!” “She lived in Spain for five years.” Another useful point to note is that ‘for’ is usually only used as a statement. While it can be used as a question, it’s usually better to use the phrase ‘how long’ instead. For example: “How long did you spend revising for your exam?” For can be used with most tenses, including the present perfect and the simple past. @fluencyinenglish Since Unlike ‘for’, which describes a particular period of time, ‘since’ describes the duration in a different way – by referring to when it first started. By using ‘since’ you can describe things that started happening some time ago, and are still continuing now. For example: “She has been gone since 2 o’ clock.” You can also use ‘since’ to describe a period of time that you haven’t done something – by describing how long it has been from when you last did it. For example: “It’s been five years since I last rode a bike – I’m not sure I remember how anymore!” ‘Since’ can be used with the present perfect and the past perfect. @fluencyinenglish Ago ‘Ago’ is perhaps the simplest of all three! It is only used with the simple past tense, and you use it to describe when something happened, at a specific point in time. @fluencyinenglish For example: “I moved to London six years ago.” This might seem very similar to ‘since’ – but the big difference to remember is that ‘since’ describes the starting point of an event, without measuring how long it has been, while ‘ago’ describes the full duration. @fluencyinenglish Another point to note with using ‘ago’ is that the duration of time must always be stated, unless you are asking a question. For example: “How long ago did you start to learn French?” “I started learned six years ago.” @fluencyinenglish