CARROTTA
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⏳ Compendium
Grammar
EN
English — for vs since
With the present perfect, for measures a length of time (for two years) and since marks the starting point (since 2020). Both answer How long...?
1
How it works
✓ Rule
Use for + a period (for two years, for ten minutes, for a long time) and since + a point in time (since 2020, since Monday, since I was a child). The verb is present perfect: I have lived here for two years. / I have lived here since 2020.
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Examples
| for + period | since + point in time |
|---|---|
| for two years | since 2020 |
| for ten minutes | since 9 o'clock |
| for three days | since Monday |
| for a week | since last week |
| for a long time | since I was a child |
| for ages | since we met |
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Good to know
⚠ Note
Ask How long...? with the present perfect: How long have you lived here? Don't use since with a period — say for two years, not "since two years". Note also that ago goes with the past simple (I moved here two years ago), not with for or since.