English Mastery
Module 6 · Mini Grammar Essentials

For vs. Since

Intermediate35 min25 questions7 sections
Step 1

Quick Look

The pair that has haunted every Perfect tense since Module 1 gets its own final chapter. FOR + a LENGTH of time (for three years, for two hours). SINCE + a STARTING POINT (since 2021, since Monday, since the lockdown). One measures the rope; the other marks where the rope is tied.
Sentence TypeStructure + Example
FOR + length
for ten minutes, for three days, for six months, for twenty years, for ages
SINCE + starting point
since 9 a.m., since Tuesday, since March, since 2019, since Diwali, since we moved
The partner tense
Both usually ride with Perfect tenses: He has been here since noon. / We’ve held this plot for a decade.

The golden rule — the HOW LONG test: if the phrase answers ‘how long?’ with an amount (two hours, five years), use FOR. If it answers ‘starting when?’ with a point on the calendar or clock (Monday, 2015, childhood), use SINCE. ‘Since two hours’ fails the test — two hours is a length, not a point.

The rope and the knot
=We have owned this plotfor ten years.We have owned this plotsince 2016.201620182020202220242026SINCE 2016a point on the calendar2016 सेFOR TEN YEARSa length of timeदस साल सेNOW
FOR measures the rope; SINCE marks where it is tied. Same stretch of time, two ways to say it.
Step 2

When to Use It

for fifteen yearsNOWPASTFUTUREFOR+ a length
Use 1

FOR — measuring the duration

Works with Perfect tenses AND ordinary past/future.
  • We have known the Bidhuri family for fifteen years.
  • The file sat with the clerk for three weeks. (Simple Past — also fine)
  • I’ll be in Lucknow for two days next week.
  • They’ve been waiting for over an hour.
since 2019NOWPASTFUTURESINCE+ a start
Use 2

SINCE — marking the start

Locks onto Perfect tenses; the start can even be a clause.
  • Rates have doubled since the expressway announcement.
  • He has been off cash deals since the 2019 raid.
  • Since we shifted to the new office, walk-ins have tripled. (since + clause)
  • She’s been in this trade since college.
NOWPASTFUTUREAGOten years ago
Use 3

The AGO triangle

Ago looks back from NOW with a Simple Past — and often replaces broken ‘before/since’ phrasing.
  • We bought this plot ten years ago. (NOT ‘before ten years’)
  • Compare: We bought it ten years ago. = We have owned it for ten years. = We have owned it since 2016.
  • One fact, three correct costumes.
PRESENT PERFECTSIMPLE PASTI have met him twicesincehe joinedsince he has joinedsince I am working herethe since-clause= Simple Past
Use 4

The tense handshake

Since + a Perfect main clause; the clause after since takes Simple Past.
  • I have met him twice since he joined. (have met + joined)
  • It’s been raining since the procession started.
  • NOT: since he has joined / since I am working here
One fact, three costumes
RIGHTWRONGAGOSimple PastWe bought this plotten years ago.before ten yearsFORPresent PerfectWe have owned itfor ten years.since ten yearsSINCEPresent PerfectWe have owned itsince 2016.for 2016
Looking back from now: ago, for and since all say the same thing — never mix their partners.
Step 3

Hindi Concept Note

अHindi Concept Noteहिंदी में समझिए
हिंदी का एक ‘से’, English के दो शब्द — यही सारी उलझन है:
कितनी देर/कितने समय से (मात्रा) FOR: दो घंटे से FOR two hours; तीन साल से FOR three years।
कब से (शुरुआती बिंदु) SINCE: सोमवार से SINCE Monday; 2019 से SINCE 2019; बचपन से SINCE childhood।
Test एक ही है: जवाब में मात्रा आए for; calendar/घड़ी का point आए since। ‘since two hours’ इसीलिए ग़लत है — दो घंटे मात्रा है, point नहीं।
‘पहले’ वाली ग़लती भी यहीं मरती है: दस साल पहले ten years AGO (‘before ten years’ नहीं!)।
और since + clause में past: जब से वह आया है since he CAME / since he JOINED (‘since he has joined’ नहीं) — मुख्य वाक्य perfect, since वाला हिस्सा simple past।
Step 4

Common Mistakes Hindi Speakers Make

Wrong
Right
Why
I have been waiting since two hours.
I have been waiting for two hours.
Two hours = a length for. The most common for/since error in India.
He has worked here for 2018.
He has worked here since 2018.
2018 = a starting point since.
We shifted to this colony before five years.
We shifted to this colony five years ago.
Looking back from now ago, after the length.
Since I am working here, I have closed forty deals.
Since I started working here, I have closed forty deals.
The since-clause takes Simple Past (started), not present.
She is living in Dubai since 2022.
She has been living in Dubai since 2022.
Since pulls the Perfect — Module 1’s oldest handshake.
It has been raining from morning.
It has been raining since morning.
With Perfect tenses, the starting point takes since, not from. (From...to pairs for schedules: from 10 to 4.)
Step 5

Signal Words

The two-second sort:
Amount of time (minutes, days, years, ages) for
Point in time (clock, day, date, year, event, clause) since
Looking back from now length + ago
since + clause clause in Simple Past; main clause in Perfect
Both usually signal a Perfect tense in the main clause
Step 6

Practice

Set A

Fill in the blanks

0 / 10
  1. 1
    The site has been sealed last Tuesday.
  2. 2
    We’ve been chasing that refund four months.
  3. 3
    He has been the pradhan 2020.
  4. 4
    They lived in Kavi Nagar twelve years before shifting.
  5. 5
    the metro opened, rentals here have jumped 30%.
  6. 6
    I haven’t had a proper holiday ages.
  7. 7
    She joined us three years . (careful)
  8. 8
    The generator has been running 6 a.m.
  9. 9
    how long have you known the seller?
  10. 10
    The market has been slow the new circle rates came in.
Set B

Correct the mistake

0 / 8
  1. 11
    We have been partners since twenty years.
  2. 12
    He is absent from Monday. (he’s still absent)
  3. 13
    I know him since childhood.
  4. 14
    The offer expired before two days.
  5. 15
    Since she has joined, sales have improved. (fix the clause)
  6. 16
    They are waiting for the surveyor since noon.
  7. 17
    I have been in this business for 2005.
  8. 18
    It is raining since morning.
Set C

Translate into English

0 / 7
  1. 19
    मैं दो घंटे से इंतज़ार कर रहा हूँ।
  2. 20
    वह 2019 से यहाँ काम कर रहा है।
  3. 21
    हमने यह दुकान दस साल पहले ख़रीदी थी।
  4. 22
    जब से वह आया है, काम तेज़ हो गया है।
  5. 23
    मैंने उसे बरसों से नहीं देखा।
  6. 24
    सुबह से बिजली नहीं है।
  7. 25
    तुम कब से इस line में हो?
Step 7

Answer Key

Show answersHide answers
Answers · Set A
1
since
2
for
3
since
4
for
5
Since
6
for
7
ago
8
since
9
For
10
since
Answers · Set B
11
We have been partners for twenty years.
12
He has been absent since Monday.
13
I have known him since childhood.
14
The offer expired two days ago.
15
Since she joined, sales have improved.
16
They have been waiting for the surveyor since noon.
17
I have been in this business since 2005.
18
It has been raining since morning.
Answers · Set C
19
I have been waiting for two hours.
20
He has been working here since 2019.
21
We bought this shop ten years ago.
22
Since he came/joined, the work has speeded up. / Work has moved faster since he arrived.
23
I haven’t seen him for years. / I haven’t seen her in ages.
24
There has been no electricity since morning. / The power has been out since morning.
25
How long have you been in this line? / Since when have you been in this business?

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200 verbs, organised by sound pattern so they actually stick.