3.1.3: Present Perfect with 'For' and 'Since'
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- 257429
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Grammar-Quizzes › Adverbials › Prepositional Phrases › For vs. Since
We use for and since to express duration with a quantity of time vs. a starting time
For vs. Since
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FOR + QUANTITY PHRASE |
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For expresses that something (activity, action, state) happened with duration. For is followed by a noun phrase with a quantity of time. A prepositional phrase with for commonly occurs with a verb in the present perfect (and other tenses). The activity may be ending or may extend to the future. |
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For can be used with Present Perfect or Simple Past |
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Present Perfect We have lived in Dallas for five years. (up to now, unfinished time) We haven't been here for three years. (quantity) We haven't been here in¹ years. (period) |
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Simple Past We lived in Dallas for five years. (finished time) We stayed there for five years. |
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SINCE + STARTING POINT |
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Since expresses that something (activity, action, state) happened with duration. Since is followed by a noun phrase (NP) or clause with a specific time, a starting time for the activity. Since commonly occurs with a verb in the present perfect or past perfect. The activity may be finished or may continue. |
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We have spent our summers here since June 2012. (NP) We haven't checked our messages since last Saturday. (NP) |
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We haven't been here since last year. (starting point of period) We haven't been here in¹ a year. (period) |
¹for vs. in —For (quantity of time) is similar to in (a period of time); however for can be followed by a more precise time. We drove to New York in four days. (How long did it take? It took us four days to drive to New York.) We drove to New York for four days. (Ambiguous: How long did the drive last? How long will you stay in New York?)
Exercise 2.5
Tourism at a Beach Resort
Stating experiences with for and since.
Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
1. We've lived here ( for / since) several years.
2. More precisely, we have lived here (for / since) 2002.
3. Here, tourism has increased ( for / since) the end of last year.
4. More people have visited the city (for / since) the beginning of the year.
5. We have swum and walked on the beach (for / since) early this morning.
6. We've enjoyed the sun and warm water (for / since) a week now.
7. We've eaten at several of the restaurants (for / since) we arrived.
8. We've walked all over the island and enjoyed everything here (for / since) several days.
9. We haven't had such a good vacation (for / since) several years.
10. We have thought about returning (for / since) we got back.
Exercise 2.6: For and Since to Answer "How Long"
We ask "how long" when we want to know when a current activity or state began in the past.
Answer the questions in complete sentences. Answers can be given with the words "for" or "since"
Example:
Q: How long have you been in this classroom?
A: I have been here since 8:00.
A: I have been here for thirty minutes.
- How long have you lived in the U.S.?
- How long have you studied at San Jacinto College?
- How long have you known your best friend?
- How long have you known your Grammar teacher?
- How long has your classmate lived in the U.S.?
- How long have we been in class today so far?
Using 'for' and 'since and practice exercise: Grammar-Quizzes › Adverbials › Prepositional Phrases › For vs. Since
Adapted from Grammar Quizzes licensed for use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.Julie Sevastopoulos (contact) — ESL / ELL / TEFL — English Grammar Reference / Resource – Practices & Exercises – Palo Alto, California USA — 10 Nov 2022 (Edited for B1 language level)