Difference between revisions of "Language/English/Vocabulary/Ago"
< Language | English | Vocabulary
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:English-Language-PolyglotClub.jpg|thumb]] | |||
[[File:Ago.jpg|thumb]] | [[File:Ago.jpg|thumb]] | ||
<div style="font-size:300%;"> Ago</div> | <div style="font-size:300%;"> Ago</div> | ||
| Line 8: | Line 9: | ||
Example | ===Example=== | ||
*I met her six weeks ago. | *I met her six weeks ago. | ||
| Line 17: | Line 18: | ||
Examples | ===Examples=== | ||
*She phoned a few minutes ago. (not She has phoned) | *She phoned a few minutes ago. (not She has phoned) | ||
| Line 31: | Line 32: | ||
Compare | ===Compare=== | ||
*He died three years ago. (= three years before now) (not He died for three years, or for three years ago.) | *He died three years ago. (= three years before now) (not He died for three years, or for three years ago.) | ||
| Line 44: | Line 45: | ||
Compare | ===Compare=== | ||
*I met that woman in Scotland three years ago.(not three years before/ before three years) | *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.) | *When we got talking I found out that I had been at school with her husband ten years before, (not ten years ago.) | ||
Revision as of 18:06, 29 September 2021
Ago
Word order: six weeks ago
Ago follows an expression of time.
Example
- I met her six weeks ago.
Tenses
An expression with ago refers to a finished time, and is normally used with a past tense, not a present perfect.
Examples
- 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
Ago says how long before the present something happened; for (with a past tense) says how long it lasted.
Compare
- 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
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
- 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.)