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For or Since: What Is the
Difference? |
Have you ever wondered how to talk about an event that
began in the past and continues into the present?
In English, we often use prepositions to place a noun,
pronoun or noun phrase in time. This way, we can
communicate the passage of time.
One common problem that English learners face is how to
use prepositions of time. Two of the most common
prepositions of time are for and since.
English learners often have difficulties with these two
prepositions, because their native languages may use
prepositions differently.
Consider the following sentences:
I've been travelling for three years.
I've been travelling since 2012.
Today, you will learn about why you should use for in
the first sentence, and since in the second sentence.
For
In English, we use the preposition for to talk about an
amount of time or space. The amount of time could be
seconds, minutes, hours, days, months or even years.
The amount of time does not need to be exact. You could
use for when you are talking about vague periods of
time, like "for the weekend", "for ages" or "for a long
time".
The important point is that for is used to specify a
period of time.
In English, the basic formula for using for is this:
for + a period of time
For can be used when talking about the past, present or
future.
Here are three example sentences that use similar
vocabulary, but use different verb tenses.
(Past) Last year, I traveled for three weeks.
(Present Continuous) I'm travelling for three weeks.
(Future) Next year, I will travel for three weeks.
Regardless of the verb tense, the preposition for is
still followed by a period of time.
"For" in popular music
You can hear examples of "for + a period of time" in
many songs.
For example, in the popular movie “Frozen”, the
character Anna sings,
For years I've roamed these empty halls.
You heard the singer say "for years." She says "for"
because the word "years" refers to a period of time. The
prepositional phrase "for years" tells how long the
singer has roamed the empty halls.
Since
In English, we use since to refer to a point of time.
Since can refer to a point after a specific time or
event in the past. Or it can refer to a particular point
beginning sometime in the past and continuing until the
present time. The particular point in time could be
anything – last Tuesday, 2008 or midnight, for example.
The important point is that since is used with a
particular point in time.
The basic formula for using since is this:
since + a particular point in time.
In sentences with since, we usually use perfect tenses.
When using since, we normally use present perfect and
past perfect tenses in the main clause of the sentence.
You wouldn't use since when you are talking about the
future because, by definition, since refers to specific
point in the past.
Here are two examples in the present perfect tense:
It has been raining since 8 a.m.
I have been walking since 10 p.m.
"Since" in popular music
You can hear the word since in many popular songs. Here
is the group "The Temptations" using the preposition
since in "Since I Lost My Baby".
Since I lost my baby
Since I lost my baby
Since I lost my baby.
In the song, since is followed by "I lost my baby." This
means that the singer lost someone he loves. Because he
lost the person he loves at a specific point in time,
you use the preposition since.
For vs. Since
Remember, for is used with a period of time.
Since is used to refer to a specific point in time.
You can use for and since with similar verb tenses, if
you wish. Here are two examples:
I have been walking for five hours.
I have been walking since 10 p.m.
We have lived here for 20 years.
We have lived here since 1985.
In the example sentences, both for and since show an
event that began in the past and continues into the
present.
But please remember this: for can be used with other
verb tenses, including the future!
I hope that you remember this lesson for a long time!
For VOA Learning English, I'm Pete Musto. And I'm John
Russell.
John Russell wrote this story for Learning English.
Kathleen Struck was the editor. |
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