Hello and welcome to Wednesday’s Words with English with Languissimo® which will help you improve your vocabulary so that you can communicate better in English.
My name is Vanessa. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®.
Today, I will cover the difference between “for” and “since” in the context of duration.
- “For” means “depuis”. It is used with the present perfect (or present perfect progressive) and the following words: “seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, centuries”, and “forever”.
For example: “I have learnt English for a few months” (j’apprends l’anglais depuis quelques mois), “I have been learning English for 4 years” (j’apprends l’anglais depuis 4 ans).
The questions to these answers would be: “how long have you learnt English?” or “how long have you been learning English?”
Just listen carefully to the Anglophone who gives you the question. If the present perfect is used in the question, use it in the answer. If the present perfect progressive is used in the question, use it in the answer.
- “Since” also means “depuis”. It is used with the present perfect (or present perfect progressive) as well and a specific starting date. For example, “I have been learning English since January” (j’apprends l’anglais depuis janvier), “I have been practicing since last fall” (je pratique depuis l’automne), “we have been doing this since 2020.” (on fait ça depuis 2020).
The questions to these answers would be: “how long have you been learning English?”, “how long have you been practicing?”, “how long have you been doing this?”
There are two challenges for Francophones:
- One: use “for” or “since” correctly. Use the tip I gave you above to choose the right one and keep it simple.
- Two: use the present perfect or present perfect progressive (instead of the present). Listen to Anglophones when they ask you a question and use the same tense they used in your answer. Just follow the guide, practice and you will get it.
Some Practice Questions
- How long have you been learning English?
- How long has your president/head of state/minister been in power?
- How long have you been listening to English with Languissimo®?
Ta da! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and have a great Wednesday! Big hugs 😊