Language/English/Vocabulary/Ago
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Ago
Word order: six weeks ago[edit | edit source]
Ago follows an expression of time.
Example[edit | edit source]
- I met her six weeks ago.
Tenses[edit | edit source]
An expression with ago refers to a finished time, and is normally used with a past tense, not a present perfect.
Examples[edit | edit source]
- She phoned a few minutes ago. (not She has phoned)
- ‘Where’s Mike? '‘He was working outside ten minutes ago.’
The difference between ago and for[edit | edit source]
Ago says how long before the present something happened; for (with a past tense) says how long it lasted.
Compare[edit | edit source]
- He died three years ago. (= three years before now) (not He died for three years, or for three years ago.)
- He was ill for three years before he died. (= His illness lasted three years.)
Ago and before with time expressions: counting back[edit | edit source]
We use "ago" with a past tense and a time expression to ‘count back' from the present; to say how long before now something happened.
We can use "before" in the same way (with a past perfect tense) to count back from a past moment.
Compare[edit | edit source]
- I met that woman in Scotland three years ago.(not three years before/ before three years)
- When we got talking I found out that I had been at school with her husband ten years before, (not ten years ago.)
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Diminutives
- Not…as such
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- English words of Arabic origin
- Although, though, but and however