Since vs. For: How to use them

“Since” and “for” are both used to talk about time, but they are used in different ways. By understanding these differences, you can use “since” and “for” correctly to express time relationships in your sentences.

Since

• Point in time: “Since” is used to indicate the starting point of an action or state. It tells us when something began.  
• Used with perfect tenses: It is often used with present perfect or past perfect tenses.  

Examples

• “I have lived here since 2010.” (Started living here in 2010 and continue to do so)
• “She has been working on that project since Monday.” (Started working on Monday and continues to work on it)
• “They had been friends since childhood.” (Their friendship started in childhood)

For

• Duration of time: “For” is used to indicate how long an action or state has lasted. It tells us the length of time.
• Used with various tenses: It can be used with simple past, present perfect, and other tenses.

Examples

• “I lived in Paris for five years.” (The duration of living in Paris was five years)
• “She has been waiting for an hour.” (The duration of waiting is one hour)  
• “They will be on vacation for two weeks.” (The vacation will last two weeks)

Key differences

In summary

• Use “since” when you want to indicate the starting point of an action or state.  
• Use “for” when you want to indicate the duration of an action or state.

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