First, let’s look at the difference between “since” and “for”. They are both used to say how long something has been happening, but while “since” is followed by a precise time or a date, “for” is followed by a length of time:
“She has lived here since 2011.”
“She has lived here for 3 years.”
“I’ve been waiting for over an hour.”
❌”He’s been a teacher since twenty years.”
It is also common to follow since with a phrase that describes a specific time:
“I’ve been playing the piano since I was five.”
“It’s the hottest summer since records began.”
When you talk about how long something has continued up to the present time or the time you are talking about, use a perfect form of the verb:
“I’ve known her since 1995.”
❌”I know her since 1995.”
If you want to ask someone questions about the length of time something has existed or been happening, use “How long...” with a perfect tense:
“How long have you lived here?”
“How long had they known about the document?”
Unlike “for”, “since” can also be used as an adverb, usually at the end of a sentence.
“I met him at Jake’s party, but I haven’t seen him since.”
To emphasize that a situation hasn’t changed over a period of time, we say ever since:
“She came to visit us in May, and she’s been here ever since.”
“He’s been grumpy ever since he arrived.”
Use “ago” to say how long before the present something happened. It always comes at the end of the sentence or clause:
“She called me about an hour ago.”
“Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.”
To talk about a period of time from its beginning to its end, we use “from … to”
“He worked for the company from 2011 to 2014.”
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