Below is a brief overview and study guide for three common areas of English grammar related to time and frequency. Each section includes an explanation and example sentences to help you use “for,” “since,” and express recurring or ongoing activities in American English.
Activities of Duration with “for”
Using “for” expresses how long an action has been happening. It indicates a length of time (hours, days, months, years, etc.). You’ll often see “for” combined with the perfect tenses (e.g., present perfect, present perfect continuous), though it can also appear in other tenses when emphasizing duration.
Examples:
- I have worked at this company for five years.
- She studied Spanish for two semesters in college.
- We stayed in the library for three hours yesterday.
- They exercised together for half an hour every morning.
- He waited at the bus stop for 20 minutes before it arrived.
- I have been saving money for a long time so I can travel next year.
- We have talked about this idea for weeks, but haven’t decided yet.
Activities of Duration with “since”
Using “since” tells us when an action began. It is most commonly used with the perfect tenses to show the starting point of an ongoing action. “Since” typically refers to a specific point in time (e.g., a date, a month, a year, or a particular moment).
Examples:
- I have been part of this community since 2019.
- She has managed the team since January.
- We have been planning our wedding since last summer.
- They have known each other since high school.
- He has been practicing the guitar since he was 10 years old.
- I have not seen my cousin since last Christmas.
- They have been discussing the project since Monday.
Recurring Activities
When talking about repeated or recurring events, use phrases that indicate frequency or the number of times an action has occurred. Verbs like “have done,” “have been,” and “have gone” followed by a specific number or count are common in these contexts.
Examples:
- I have gone to the gym three times this week.
- He has attended that conference twice already.
- We visit our grandparents every weekend.
- They have traveled to Europe several times in the last few years.
- She reads a new book each month to improve her knowledge.
- I meet with my study group once a week for discussion.
- We have seen the same movie five times because we love it so much.
Practice Tips
- Identify the Duration: Ask yourself, “Is this sentence telling me how long (for) or when it started (since)?”
- Check Tense Consistency: Often, “for” and “since” are used with perfect tenses (e.g., present perfect). Ensure that your verb tense matches the intended meaning.
- Count Recurrences: When expressing how many times something happened, remember to use the correct form of the verb (e.g., “has visited,” “have seen”) and the right quantifier (e.g., “two times,” “ten times,” “several times”).
Combine Categories
You can mix “for,” “since,” and recurring expressions in conversation:
- “I have been studying French for two years, and I have taken professional lessons three times since I started.”
Context Matters
Choose “for” or “since” based on whether you want to express duration (for) or a starting point (since):
- Duration: “for three days,” “for six weeks”
- Starting point: “since April,” “since last year,” “since Monday”
Vary Your Recurrence Expressions
- Instead of always saying “three times,” try: “several times,” “many times,” “twice,” “countless times,” etc. This keeps your speech natural and varied
Use this guide to clarify how to indicate duration and frequency of activities in English. Focus on understanding the difference between using “for” and “since,” and practice expressing how often or how many times an action occurs.