For vs Since — Present Perfect Exercises
Practice choosing 'for' with a duration and 'since' with a starting point in present perfect sentences: for five years, since 2018, for ages, since we got here.
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David has worked in Mexico ___ many years.
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for
Use 'for' with a period of time — 'for many years'.
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David has worked in Mexico ___ January 2000.
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since
Use 'since' with a specific date or starting point — 'since January 2000'.
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I haven't seen Janice ___ a long time.
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for
'A long time' is a period — use 'for'.
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I haven't been to the beach ___ we got here.
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since
'Since' is used with a past event ('we got here') as the starting point.
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He's worked for the same company ___ five years.
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for
'Five years' is a period — use 'for'.
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She's lived in Paris ___ 2018.
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since
'2018' is a starting point — use 'since'.
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I haven't seen you ___ ages!
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for
'Ages' is a vague period — use 'for'.
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She has played the piano ___ she was a child.
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since
A past event/time ('she was a child') as the starting point — use 'since'.
For vs Since in the Present Perfect
'For' and 'since' both connect a present perfect verb to a time period, but they answer two different questions. 'For' is followed by a length of time and answers 'how long?': 'for five years', 'for a long time', 'for ages'. 'Since' is followed by a starting point and answers 'since when?': 'since 2018', 'since we got here', 'since she was a child'. The starting point after 'since' can be a date, a day, an age, or a whole clause, but it always names a single moment rather than a stretch of time. Mixing the two — saying 'since five years' or 'for 2018' — is one of the most consistent present perfect errors across learner backgrounds, because many languages use a single preposition to cover both meanings.
For + Duration
Use 'for' whenever the time expression could answer 'how long?' — a number of minutes, days, weeks, years, or a vague duration like 'ages' or 'a long time'.
David has worked in Mexico for many years.
I haven't seen Janice for a long time.
I haven't seen you for ages!
Since + Starting Point
Use 'since' whenever the time expression names the specific moment a situation began — even if that 'moment' is expressed as a clause with its own subject and verb.
David has worked in Mexico since January 2000.
I haven't been to the beach since we got here. (clause as starting point)
She has played the piano since she was a child.
Note that the verb inside a clause after 'since' is normally past simple ('since we got here'), not present perfect, even though the main clause stays in the present perfect.
Common Mistakes
✗ She's lived in Paris for 2018. → ✓ She's lived in Paris since 2018.
✗ I haven't been to the beach for we got here. → ✓ I haven't been to the beach since we got here.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial