Prepositions of Time
| SINCE | + time / point in the past (yesterday, last year) |
| FOR | + period of time (2 hours/3 days/1 year) |
| UNTIL | up to a point in time |
| TILL | Less formal way of saying until |
| FROM….TO | Use from for the start time and to for the finish time |
Since
Since is typically used with perfect tenses. Use since with the Perfect Tenses to express a point of time in the past up to now.
Example Sentences
- I’ve known him since I was a child.
- I’ve had this phone since last year.
- I haven’t eaten anything since this morning.
For
When used as preposition of time, for is used with a period of time. Note that although for is sometimes called a keyword for the Perfect Tenses, it can be used with all the other tenses.
Example Sentences
- I lived in England for 10 years.
- I’m only working for 3 hours today.
- I’m going on holiday for a week next month.
Until
Use until to mean the end time, up to a specific time or a point in time.
Example Sentences
- I will work until 5p.m. today.
- I played football until the club closed.
- I going away on holiday until Thursday. (This means that on Thursday I will be back from my holiday).
From….to
Use from to mean the starting time and to for the end or finish time. Note: To can be a synonym of until and till so it’s perfectly correct to use for with until or till.
Example Sentences
- I’m going to be on holiday from 31st August to the 10th of September.
- The lesson is from 9a.m to 10a.m.
- The meeting is from 6 o’clock to 8 o’clock
- I will be at the gym from 11a.m till 12.30p.m.
- I going to be on holiday from the 1st January till the 8th January.
Since, For, Until, From…to Exercises
Prepositions of Time Exercises
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