Get expert tips on language, grammar, style and vocabulary

Difference between Since and For

2 min read

Born in Málaga, Spain, Cris has always had a passion for languages; learning English as a second language himself. Cris has worked for in a wide variety of roles for different companies in the ELT space. Cris is a musician, a basketballer and self-professed “gamer”.

See more articles from Cristobal

13 January 2021

There are many pairs of words you might come across when you are learning English that seem to be used for the same purpose, but actually work differently. Since and for is one of those pairs. Both words also have other uses, so don’t worry if you’ve seen them in other contexts.

Since and for are two words that are used for similar, but not exactly the same, purposes. They work in a similar way to the Past Perfect Simple and Past Continuous tenses, and relate to when events happen.

Since

Use since to indicate the beginning of a time period until the present. Since is used for the starting point of actions, events or states of being. Since can only be used with the perfect tenses.

I have known her since June.
Allison hasn’t been to that restaurant since her birthday.
He’s wanted to learn about penguins since we went to the zoo.

For

Use for when you’re talking about an amount of time – how long something happens. Usually, you use it with a period of time. It can be specific or general. For can be used with all tenses.