How To Use THEN/THAN, FOR/SINCE/AGO, LATE/LATELY In English Grammar (With Examples)

Did you know that in English there are more than 170,000 words?

 

Now because there are so many words in English, it’s only natural for some of those words to have a similar meaning. So in today’s video we have a look at some words that are commonly confused by students who are learning English.

 

Those words are ‘then’ and ‘than’. ‘For’, ‘since’ and ‘ago’. And ‘late’ and ‘lately’. Don’t worry if you don’t understand how to use these words at the moment because by the end of the video you will understand how to use these words and what they mean.

 

And make sure you watch until the end of the video because there will be a quiz to test your understanding. Are you ready? Let’s go!

 

How To Use ‘Then’ & ‘Than’

Let’s look at ‘then’ and ‘than’ first. What are the differences between these two words?

 

Well, let’s have a look at some sentences so you can see the difference. He is taller than her. What are we doing here with the word ‘than’? We are comparing. We are making a comparison.

 

A ‘comparison’ is when you show the difference between two or more things.

 

One more example. This chair is more comfortable than that chair. What are we doing here? Well again, we making a comparison. We are showing how this chair is different than this chair.

 

So why do we use ‘than’? We use ‘than’ to make comparisons.

 

For example, ‘bigger than’, ‘smaller than’, ‘further than’. Easy, right?

 

I want to go to the gym first and then I’ll go to the shops. What are doing with the word ‘then’ here?

 

Well, we are talking about time. We are talking about a sequence.

 

First, I will go to the gym and then after that I will go to the shops. We are saying that one thing happens first and then after that, another thing happens.

 

Now, another example could be ‘I poured my drink and then I drank it.’

 

We are talking about time again, right? We are talking about a sequence. First, I poured my drink and then after that, I drank it.

 

So this is why we use ‘then’ – to talk about time or to talk about a sequence to show in what order things happen.

 

And just remember, when we use ‘then’, there is no comparing.

 

So in summary, ‘than’ for comparisons. And ‘then’ when we’re talking about time or a sequence or we want to show what order something happened in.

 

How To Use ‘For’, ‘Since’ & ‘Ago’

Now let’s look at ‘for’, ‘since’, and ‘ago’. What is the difference between these three words?

 

Well, let’s have a look at some sentences so you can see the difference. I have been waiting here for 10 minutes. You see here with the word ‘for’, we have a duration after it. We have an amount of time. We are saying how much time.

 

Some other examples could be ‘You have been learning English for two years.’ We are saying that the amount of time, the duration of time is two years.

 

Another example could be ‘They have been working there for ten years.’ Again, we are showing a duration. We’re talking about an amount of time, how much time.

 

When we use ‘for’ like this, we normally want to show how much time. So please remember when you’re using ‘for’, you need to use a duration of time, an amount of time. For example, one year. Two months. Three minutes.

 

But when we’re using ‘for’, we don’t use a specific time or a specific date. For example, ‘I have been waiting here for 3pm.’ No. Another example could be ‘They have been working here for 2019.’ No, that’s wrong because we’re using ‘2019’ which is a specific time.

 

After ‘for’ we need a duration of time, an amount of time. I have known her since 2012. What are we doing here with ‘since’? What are we talking about? Well we are talking about the starting time of the event, when this event started.

 

Some other examples could be ‘He has been waiting since 3pm.’ This means he started waiting at 3pm and now he is still waiting.

 

Another example could be ‘They have been going to the gym since May.’ When we use ‘since’ here, we’re talking about the starting time of the event, when this event started. We do not use a time period after ‘since’.

 

For example, ‘I have known her since eight years.’ No. Or ‘They have been going to the gym since eight months.’ No. After ‘since’, you need a specific time or a specific date.

 

For example, ‘since May’. Since 2020. Since 3 o’ clock. He got to the my house 15 minutes ago. What are we talking about here? Past, present or future? The past. Is this action finished? Yes.

 

So we use ‘ago’ when we’re talking about the time of a past event from now. We start here and then we count backwards into the past.

 

So let’s pretend now it’s 11:15am. He got here 15 minutes ago so that means we start here and we count backwards 15 minutes. So we know he got here at 11am.

 

Some other examples could be ‘They moved to America five years ago.’ Or ‘She started her job two months ago.’

 

In summary, we use ‘for’ when we’re talking about a duration of time. For example, ’10 minutes’. We use ‘since’ when we’re talking about the starting point of an event. For example, ‘since 2015’. And we use ‘ago’ when we’re talking about a past event and we count backwards from the present. For example, ’10 minutes ago’.

 

And also, please note that we normally use ‘for’ and ‘since’ with perfect tenses.

 

If you haven’t seen this video on the present perfect tense, you can watch it right here.

 

And with ‘ago’, we normally use this word with the past tense. So if you haven’t seen this video on the past simple tense, you can watch it right here.

 

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘Shane, what’s the difference between “since” and “ago”?’ Well it’s actually very easy.

 

With the word ‘since’, we are not counting backwards from the present. We are just talking about when the event started. For example, ‘They have lived in this country since January.’

 

This means we are just talking about when the event started. We are not counting backwards into the past.

 

But with ‘ago’, we are talking about events that happened in the past but we are counting backwards from now, from the present.

 

An example sentence could be ‘He moved here two years ago.’ That means we count backwards from now and then we will know at what time he got here.

 

And one last thing about ‘since’ and ‘ago’. With ‘since’, we use a specific time. For example, ‘since 2000’. But with ‘ago’, we use a duration of time. For example, ’10 minutes ago’.

 

How To Use ‘Late’ & ‘Lately’

He was late to the meeting. What are we talking about here? Well, we are talking about what he did. We are saying that he got to the meeting late. He got there after the meeting had already started.

 

‘Late’ can be an adjective or it can be an adverb. Now ‘late’ means the opposite of early. So if you’re early to something, that means you get there before it starts.

 

But if you’re late to something, that means you get there after it starts. Some other examples could be ‘They got to class late.’ This means when they got to the class, the class had already started.

 

Another example could be ‘The TV show started late.’ So let’s pretend the TV show should have started at 7pm. But this means it started after 7pm. It started late. He has been happy lately. Does ‘lately’ here mean the opposite of ‘early’? No it doesn’t. ‘Lately’ is an adverb and it means recently or around this time.

 

For example, in the past week, in the past two weeks, in the past month. So ‘He has been very happy lately’, means around this time, in the past week, in the past two weeks, he has been feeling very happy.

 

Another example could be ‘They have been spending a lot of time indoors lately.’ That means around this time, they have been spending a lot of time indoors. Another example could be ‘I have been going to the gym a lot lately.’

 

This means around this time, in the past week, in the past two weeks, I have been going to the gym a lot. We are not talking about what time I arrived.

 

We are talking about what I have been doing recently, not how I did it. And just be careful, when using the word ‘lately’, we don’t use ‘lately’ with just one event.

 

For example, we cannot say ‘I had a good day lately.’ Because ‘I had a good day’ is just one time. So what you would need to say is ‘I have been having some good days lately.’

 

In summary, ‘late’ means the opposite of early so when you’re not on time. And ‘lately’ means recently around the present time. In the past week, two weeks, month.

 

Quiz

Okay you have learned about seven words in English today so let’s have a little quiz to test your understanding.

 

Question number one. They got to their lunch break late or lately? And the correct answer is ‘They got to their lunch break late.’ We say ‘late’ because we’re saying they got there the opposite of early. They got there after they should have got there. And also, we can’t use ‘lately’ with this one because we’re only talking about one time. One thing.

 

Question number two. He got to the park 10 minutes for, since or ago? And the correct answer is ‘He got to the park 10 minutes ago.’ Why? Because we are talking about a past event and we are counting back from the present. 10 minutes ago, in the past, he got to the park.

 

Question number three. He’s been at the park for, since or ago 10 minutes? And the correct answer is ‘He’s been at the park for 10 minutes.’ We are talking about a duration of time, 10 minutes, so we need to use ‘for’.

 

Question number four. You need to be there no later than or then 7pm? And the correct answer is ‘You need to be there no later than 7pm.’ Why? Because we are comparing. We are saying if you get there after 7pm, it’s not okay.

 

Question number five. They have known each other for, since or ago 2012? And the correct answer is ‘They have known each other since 2012.’ Why? Because we are talking about the starting point of the event. We are not counting backwards from the present.

 

Number six. Eat your breakfast first and then or than go have a shower. And the correct answer is ‘Eat your breakfast first and then go have a shower.’ Why? Because we are using ‘then’ to talk about time, to talk about a sequence. First, have your breakfast. And then after that, have a shower.

 

And the last question, question number seven. He has been working very hard late or lately? And the correct answer is ‘He has been working very hard lately.’ Why? Because we are talking about recently. In the past week. In the past two weeks. And we are not just talking about one event.