Unit 14 · Intermediate
For and Since: How Long?
Learn to say how long a situation has continued, then practise choosing verb tenses in short texts.
Learning goals: Use for and since with the present perfect, ask and answer How long ...?, and choose between the present perfect and past simple in context.
Step 1. Look at the difference
FOR a period of time
I've lived here for ten years.
Ten years tells us the length of time.
for two weeks · for a long time · for three hours
SINCE a starting point
I've lived here since 2016.
2016 tells us when the situation began.
since Monday · since nine o'clock · since I was a child
In these examples, the person still lives here now. The present perfect connects the past with the present.
Remember: for + a period; since + the time when something began.
Step 2. Ask “How long ...?”
A: How long have you lived in Brighton?
B: I've lived here for six years.
A: How long has Maria worked at the hospital?
B: She's worked there since 2021.
We use have/has + past participle. The situation began in the past and continues now.
| Question | Possible answer |
|---|---|
| How long have you studied English? | For two years. / Since 2024. |
| How long has he known Ana? | For a long time. / Since primary school. |
| How long have they been married? | For fifteen years. / Since 2011. |
These are example answers. Choose answers that are true for you when you practise speaking.
Step 3. Choose for or since
Type for or since in each gap.
1. I've known my best friend many years.
2. We've lived in this flat 2022.
3. My sister has worked here six months.
4. I haven't seen Leo last Friday.
5. We've been in this queue twenty minutes.
6. She's been interested in music she was a child.
- for
- since
- for
- since
- for
- since
Step 4. Complete the sentences
Put the verb in brackets into the present perfect. Use the correct form of have and the past participle.
1. I here for three years. (live)
2. Ben at the café since May. (work)
3. We our cousins for a long time. (not see)
4. your neighbour since you were children? (you / know)
5. My parents married for twenty-five years. (be)
6. How long that bicycle? (she / have)
- have lived / 've lived
- has worked / 's worked
- haven't seen / have not seen
- Have you known
- have been / 've been
- has she had
Step 5. Gap-fill text: A new home
Use the base form of each verb in brackets. Write the complete verb form that fits the sentence. Decide whether the situation continues now or happened at a finished time.
Amira and her family (live) in Bristol for four years. They (move) there in 2022 because her mother found a new job. Amira (like) her school, and she (make) several good friends since she arrived. Last year, she (go) on a school trip to Wales. She (not forget) that trip because she saw the sea for the first time.
- have lived / 've lived
- moved
- likes
- has made / 's made
- went
- has never forgotten / hasn't forgotten
After checking: Tell a partner what happened in 2022 and last year. Then explain which parts of Amira's life continue now.
Step 6. Gap-fill text: A busy day
Use the base form of each verb in brackets to help you. Write the complete verb form that fits the sentence. You must still decide which tense to use.
Leo usually at seven o'clock, but today he late because it is Sunday. He at weekends. Yesterday, he his aunt and lunch with her. He her best friend for many years, so they always have plenty to talk about. At the moment, Leo breakfast. He anything yet today.
Verbs: get up · get up · not work · visit · have · know · make · not eat
- gets up
- is getting up
- doesn't work / does not work
- visited
- had
- has known
- is making
- hasn't eaten / has not eaten
After checking: Retell Leo's day without looking at the text. Then ask a partner three questions about Leo.
Step 7. Gap-fill dialogue: Have you ever ...?
The base form of each verb is given in brackets. Write the complete form. Use the present perfect to ask about experience and the past simple to ask about a particular occasion.
Eva: (you / ever / be) to Edinburgh?
Sam: Yes, I (have). I (go) there last summer with my brother.
Eva: How long (you / stay)?
Sam: We (stay) for four days. We (visit) the castle and the museum. I (want) to go back ever since!
Eva: I (never / be) there, but I'd love to visit.
- Have you ever been
- have / 've
- went
- did you stay
- stayed
- visited
- have wanted / 've wanted
- have never been
Pair work: Ask your partner the first question. If the answer is yes, ask follow-up questions: When did you go? Who did you go with? How long did you stay? What did you do there?
Step 8. Speaking and writing
Ask your partner
- How long have you studied English?
- How long have you lived in your town or city?
- How long have you known your best friend?
- Have you ever visited another country? If yes, when did you go?
- Have you done anything interesting recently? What did you do?
Ask at least one follow-up question after each answer. Use the past simple to ask about a definite past event.
Write about yourself
Write five or six sentences. Include at least two sentences with for or since, one present perfect statement about an experience, and two sentences about definite past events.
Review
- for + a period of time: for three months.
- since + a starting point: since March.
- Use the present perfect for a situation that began in the past and continues now: I've lived here for three years.
- Use the past simple for a finished past event: I moved here in 2022.
- Choose the tense from meaning and context, not just from one word.
Next step: Later consolidation exercises will practise all the tenses introduced so far in short texts, with fewer clues and more decisions to make independently.