When to use For and Since?
You need to use For and Since when speaking about the duration of time or starting point of the action. You need to use For and Since with the perfect tenses. Let’s have a look at each of them individually to understand the differences.
The use of For:
You need to use For to specify the duration of actions – to answer questions related to (How long).
Examples:
He has been studying for 3 hours. 👉 answering a question about (how long)
I have lived in this city for about a year. 👉 (how long)
They have been working at the company for 3 years. 👉 (how long)
Explanation:
You need to use For when speaking about a duration of time. You don’t really need to specify the starting point. you just need to highlight the duration of time (for how long) 👇
minutes 👉 for 1 minute
hours 👉 for 1 hour
days 👉 for 3 days
weeks 👉 for 1 week
So, what about the use of Since? When and how to use Since?
You need to use (since) when speaking about the starting point of actions – (since when did the action start?).
Examples:
I have been working since 3:00 pm 👉 (since when did I start?)
She has lived in this country since 2012 👉 (since when did she move here?)
He has been trying to fix the car since the afternoon 👉 (since when did he start?)
Explanation:
You need to use (since) when describing the starting point (since when something started).
How to form questions using For and Since?
With the use of (For):
You need to start the question with (how long).
How long + have/has + subject + past participle / been + verb-ing?
Let’s have a look at the following examples to understand the use of (for):
How long has he lived in this city?
How long has she been playing the piano?
How long have they been working on the project?
Explanation:
The answer needs to be connected with something like (for 2 months, days, years…and more). It is about the duration of time.
The use of (since):
Since when + have/has + subject + past participle / been + verb-ing?
Examples:
Since when has been playing the piano?
Since when has he been living in this city?
Since when have they been working on the project?
Explanation:
The answer needs to be connected to the starting point of the action.
How to form negative sentences using (For and Since)?
You need to add (not) after has and have. Let’s have a look at the following rules to learn more about forming negative sentences using (for and since):
With the use of (for):
Subject + have/has + not + past participle / been + verb-ing + for + duration.
Examples:
He has not lived here for 3 years
She has not been studying for 2 days.
I have not been playing the guitar for about 1 year.
With the use of (Since):
Subject + have/has + not + past participle / been + verb-ing + since + starting point.
Examples:
He has not lived here since 2023.
She has not been studying since 2 days ago.
I have not been playing the guitar since one year ago.
*With the use of (for), you focus on the duration of time.
*With the use of (since), you focus on the starting point of something.
*You can use the complete form (have not/ has not) or the contraction form (haven’t/ hasn’t), it depends on the person you speak with. Professionally and in formal settings, use the complete form. When speaking informally with family, friends, chatting, etc use the contraction form.
I hope you find this English grammar lesson useful, let me know if you have any questions related to the use of (for and since) or if you have any suggestions for the upcoming topics. Yesterday, I explained another English grammar topic here so feel free to check it 🙂 Also, if you need a private discussion or lessons, email me 🙂
Have a great day & take care!