SINCE, FOR, AGO and DURING are often confused or used in the wrong place or with the wrong meaning. Read these classnotes, then do this exercise.

  • SINCE means "desde" or "desde que". It is followed by a time expression that refers to a point in time:
    It is often used with the present perfect (or the present perfect continuous), to refer to something that has (not) happened since a specific moment in time up to the present:
    N.B. When we refer to something that lasted some time in the past but is no longer happening, we use FROM... TO... and the past simple, instead of SINCE... (up to the present):
  • FOR means "durante". It is followed by a period of time:
    In Spanish it is often omitted, but never in English: If we use the present perfect, the period of time extends to the present, and the sentence can be translated into Spanish in different tenses:
  • AGO means "hace", but it is used AFTER a time expression, usually at the end of a sentence:
  • DURING means "durante", but unlike FOR, it is followed by NOUN that refers to a period of time:
    We can use with a specified period of time that we have mentioned before:

    JJCC