AEE 2376: How to Pick the Preposition: During, Since, or For?

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Ears English Podcast - Episode 2376: How to Pick the Preposition: During, Since, or For?

Hosts:

• Lindsey McMahon: The English adventurer
• Aubrey Carter: The IELTS whiz

Release Date: March 19, 2025
Title: How to Pick the Preposition: During, Since, or For?

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Introduction

In Episode 2376 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsey McMahon and Aubrey Carter delve into the intricacies of choosing the correct preposition among during, since, and for. Aimed at intermediate to advanced English learners, this episode addresses common mistakes and provides clear guidelines to enhance listeners' understanding and usage of these time-related prepositions.

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Hosts' Banter and Setting the Stage (00:00 - 04:04)

The episode opens with a brief introduction by Aubrey Carter, setting the tone for a focused grammar discussion. Lindsey McMahon shares a personal anecdote about her upcoming trip to New York to see the play Wicked, adding a relatable touch and subtly introducing temporal phrases that tie into the episode's theme.

Notable Quote:
Lindsey McMahon [02:04]: "I'm ready for a trip to New York this weekend, actually. I'm excited to New York. Oh, that's so fun."

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Common Mistakes with Prepositions (04:06 - 05:10)

Aubrey and Lindsey highlight frequent errors made by English learners, such as using "during" or "since" incorrectly when "for" is appropriate. They emphasize that prepositions of time require specificity and cannot be interchanged based solely on direct translations from a learner's native language.

Notable Quote:
Aubrey Carter [04:06]: "We might hear someone say, 'I've been here during three years,' which is incorrect because 'during' doesn't work in this context."

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Deep Dive into "For" (05:02 - 06:01)

The hosts explain that "for" is used to denote the duration of time something lasts. It is always followed by a specific period.

Examples Provided:

• "She's been learning English for 10 years."
• "He's had that job for six months."
• "We've been friends for ages."

Notable Quote:
Lindsey McMahon [05:10]: "'For' indicates the duration of time that something lasts or how long it has been happening."

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Understanding "Since" (06:10 - 08:14)

"Since" is introduced as the preposition that refers to the starting point of an action that continues to the present moment. It must be followed by a specific time, such as a day, date, or year.

Examples Provided:

• "We've been trying to figure this out since 2 AM."
• "He hasn't called me since Tuesday."
• "I haven't gone on a hike since March 4th."
• "They've known each other since 2004."

The hosts also caution against confusing "since" with "because," noting that "since" can function as a conjunction similar to "because", changing its role in a sentence.

Notable Quote:
Aubrey Carter [07:01]: "'Since' is used with a specific date or time, such as 'since March 4th.'"

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Exploring "During" (08:14 - 09:03)

"During" is explained as specifying when something happens within a particular time frame or event. It typically precedes a noun that represents an event or period.

Examples Provided:

• "She got a phone call during class."
• "We visited as many museums as possible during our vacation."

The hosts highlight the grammatical structure, noting that "during" often starts an introductory adverbial clause, which should be followed by a comma.

Notable Quote:
Aubrey Carter [08:23]: "'During' specifies when something happens within a time frame or event, like 'during class.'"

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Interactive Role Play: Applying the Prepositions (10:48 - 13:34)

To reinforce the lesson, Lindsey and Aubrey engage in a role play scenario where they incorporate the prepositions for, since, and during. This practical application helps listeners understand how to use these prepositions naturally within conversations.

Role Play Highlights:

• Lindsey: "When did you move in?"
• Aubrey: "We've been here for about a month."
• Lindsey: "We didn't want to move during the school year."
• Aubrey: "We had lived in Chicago since 2002."

Notable Quote:
Aubrey Carter [12:21]: "'We haven't moved for over 20 years." This emphasizes the use of "for" in indicating a duration.

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Addressing Verb Tenses and Prepositions (13:40 - 14:48)

The conversation shifts to the interplay between verb tenses and preposition choice. Aubrey points out that incorrect preposition usage often accompanies improper verb tenses, leading to confusion. They discuss the importance of aligning verb tenses with prepositions to convey the correct temporal relationships.

Notable Quote:
Aubrey Carter [14:26]: "It's important not to translate directly from your first language, as it can cause mistakes with preposition choice and verb tenses."

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts (14:48 - 14:50)

Aubrey and Lindsey wrap up the episode by emphasizing the significance of understanding prepositions in context rather than relying on direct translations. They announce a follow-up Part 2 to further explore verb tenses and preposition usage, encouraging listeners to submit questions and stay tuned.

Notable Quote:
Aubrey Carter [14:26]: "Instead of translating, be observant of the language as you take it in so you know how to replicate it."

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Key Takeaways

• "For" is used to express the duration of an action or state (e.g., "for two hours").
• "Since" denotes the starting point of an action that continues to the present (e.g., "since Monday").
• "During" specifies when something happens within a particular time frame or event (e.g., "during the meeting").
• Avoid translating prepositions directly from your native language; instead, learn their usage through contextual examples.
• Proper alignment of verb tenses with prepositions is crucial for conveying accurate temporal relationships.

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Additional Resources:

• Business English Podcast: For those interested in applying these grammar rules in a business context, the hosts recommend tuning into their separate Business English podcast.
• Previous Episodes: Listeners intrigued by the discussion on dating and culture can revisit Episode 2372 for more insights.

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Join the Community:
To enhance your English learning journey, subscribe to the All Ears English Podcast and become part of a community focused on connection, not perfection.

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This summary is based on Episode 2376 of the All Ears English Podcast and aims to provide a comprehensive overview for those who have not yet listened.

Transcript

[Aubrey Carter]

This is an All Ears English podcast. Episode 2376, how to Pick the preposition during, since or for.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe. How do you know when you should use the words during? Sometimes, since. And for today, we break down the grammar rules so that you can stop making mistakes when it comes to these words in English. Listen in today.

[Aubrey Carter]

Our philosophy here is connection, not perfection. And over on our business English podcast, we show you how to connect in the business world. It's all about relationship building, which starts with knowing when to be casual, formal and semi formal with your English. Learn more and listen to me, Lindsay and Michelle, over on the Business English podcast. Open your search bar and type in business English with allers English and hit that follow button. New episodes three times a week. See you there.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hello, Aubry. How's it going today?

[Aubrey Carter]

I'm great, Lindsay. How are you?

[Lindsey McMahon]

I'm feeling good. Yeah. I'm ready for. I'm ready for a trip to New York this weekend, actually. I'm excited to New York. Oh, that's so fun.

[Aubrey Carter]

Are you visiting friends, family?

[Lindsey McMahon]

No, just going to see the play Wicked. Going to see Wicked. Yeah. Amazing.

[Aubrey Carter]

Oh, that's so fun. And then you're going to wait and watch the movie after, I assume exactly. To do it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yep. Looking forward to it. So we're getting on the plane this afternoon. Should be great.

[Advertisement Speaker]

So fun.

[Aubrey Carter]

Have an amazing trip.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Thank you. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

I have a question for you to start us out here.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. How long have you lived in Denver?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, I've lived here for, I think, five, six years. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

And then I have another question, actually that's gonna use some of the grammar we're talking about today, some of the vocabulary. How long has it been since you've been to New York?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, it's been. I think it's actually been close to five or six years since I've been to New York.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. Interesting. And you could say, you know, oh, I haven't been to New York since 2019, maybe, something like that. Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

We have a lot of options. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. So many options. This is going to be a great episode. We see mistakes about this a lot in English often because students are translating from their first language and prepositions work differently in languages. So we're talking about when to use for, during and since today.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I love that. I love that. And we. We've heard a couple. Yeah, like you said, we've heard a couple mistakes in our open conversation club. We're pointing them out today. And we just love interacting with our students. We get a chance to really understand the challenges. Right. That our listeners are.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, they have great questions. They're bringing up interesting things where they're seeing the difference between their first language and English and realizing, I think I'm making a mistake with this. And then often we're able to use those great ideas on the podcast. It's amazing.

[Lindsey McMahon]

You got it. All right, so just a reminder, everyone, go ahead and hit the follow button right here on All Ears English, so you don't miss a single one of these episodes. This, this week and last week, we've been doing some grammar stuff. Really giving you some good hints to get on the right track, grammar wise. All right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Be sure to hit follow so you don't miss any of these episodes. They can just drop right into your queue.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, where do we go from here, Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

Well, let's point out some of the common mistakes that we hear. For example, we might hear someone say, I've been here during three years. Right. So they're just choosing the wrong preposition during Wouldn't work there. Or maybe they'll say, I've been here since three years. That also wouldn't work. It's very specific when it comes to prepositions of time. Which one you have to use.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, really important. And again, as you said earlier, often it's a translation from your native language. So we need to find a way to stop translating and just instead learning these as chunks based on situations.

[Aubrey Carter]

And I know I do this in Spanish. French. We do this in the languages we're learning. It's so common because we're just sort of saying the way what we think it would be in English.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, exactly. And that's okay. But as we move into B2C1, we're going to start to see ourselves doing that less and moving into speaking in a more natural way.

[Aubrey Carter]

Absolutely. So let's dive in first with 4. When would we use 4?

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, so 4 indicates the duration of time that something lasts or how long it happens or has been happening. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. So it's always followed by an amount of time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So for example, she's been learning English for 10 years.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Or he's had that job for six months. So after four, we're saying a specific duration of time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Duration. I love that. Or we've been friends for ages. So this is an interesting one, Aubry. A little bonus today.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. We have some time words like ages that are a little more general, especially when we're exaggerating. Right. Maybe they've been friends for 20 years, not actually like eras. The Jurassic and. Right. But we say ages, and we would use four for this because it's still a duration of time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

It is a duration of time. Exactly. We don't need to know exactly how long. Like you said, probably 20, not necessarily eons.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. But it would say four ages, four eons. And we would not say since or during ages. Right. This has to follow 4.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. Okay, now let's flip over to since. Different. Right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. This refers to the starting point of an action that continues up to the present moment, so will be followed by a specific time or day or date or year.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay. So for example, we've been trying to figure this out since 2am They've been up all night.

[Aubrey Carter]

Oh, that sounds miserable. What if it's an IT issue? Or children are throwing up? That's. I. I've been figure something out since 2:00am it's child.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, I'm sure you've been in that place before, Aubrey with kids. Right. Something is keeping you up all night. Oh, gosh. Yeah, seems.

[Aubrey Carter]

Or maybe he hasn't called me since Tuesday. This could come up with dating if you're counting the days and telling a friend, wow, he hasn't called me since Monday. Thursday will follow since. With a day of the week.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. And just so our listeners know, guys, we did an episode on dating in American culture just a few episodes back in 2023. 72. So go and check that one out if you're interested in dating. All right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. That was really interesting. Especially like the newest vocabulary that's being used around dating.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. Next one. I haven't gone on a hike since March 4th.

[Aubrey Carter]

All right, so this will be a specific date. Right. If you remember the date, something happened for some reason, then we'd use since. Since March 4th.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. And what would be another one? Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

They've known each other since 2004. Right. So if you want. If you don't know the specific time, you might just say they've known each other for ages. But if you know the time and you're being specific about the year or the day, that's when you'll use since.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. And we have to be careful here, because sometimes since can be similar to because. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's the tricky thing. Right. It's also used as a conjunction with a similar. Similar meaning to because. So you just have to look at how it's used in the sentence is after since. Are we giving the reason for something? If so, it's a conjunction that's different. It's not a preposition.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Got to look at the context. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Good.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, we have a third one that we've added on, which is during. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. This specifies when something happens within a time frame or event.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, so for example, she got a phone call during class. So class was going on and she got a phone call.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. Right. Every now and then I'll hear my phone buzzing. I'm getting a phone call during a podcast recording. Yes, yes. Just make sure it's not the school. Everyone else can wait.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. Exactly. Or during our vacation, we visited as many museums as possible. Okay, good.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So we often use this at the beginning of a sentence like this during. And then you name the event. And in this case, there will be a comma after because it's an introductory adverb clause. We talked about these recently on one of our grammar episodes. Yeah, you always have to follow these with a comma.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Awesome. Love it. As a busy entrepreneur, I need reliable team members who have specific skills. And when I'm hiring, I want qualified candidates applying for the job fast. One of the best things about Indeed is that it streamlines hiring to make it fast, because it allows you to look for very specific skills when you post your job. As we gear up to expand our team this spring, I plan to use Indeed. So if you're in charge of hiring at your company, stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites. Indeed's Sponsored Jobs helps you stand out and hire fast. With Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster, and it makes a huge difference. According to Indeed data, Sponsored Jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed, and listeners of this podcast will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com AEE just go to Indeed.com AEE right now and support our show by saying that you heard about Indeed on this podcast. One more time, go to indeed.com a e e Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is All you need. Okay, Aubrey, let's put this into action here. I know that our listeners love our. Our trademark role plays here. So let's go for one.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. You are. We're neighbors here. I am your new neighbor. And then we just ran into each other at the park.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, here we go. Hi there. Welcome to the neighborhood.

[Aubrey Carter]

Thank you.

[Lindsey McMahon]

When did you move in?

[Aubrey Carter]

We've been here for about a month. We didn't want to move during the school year, so we waited until summer break.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Smart. Well, we're so excited to meet you. Where did you move from?

[Aubrey Carter]

Chicago. We had lived there since 2002.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, so it'd been a while since you moved.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, we hadn't moved for over 20 years.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh. We got a lot going on in this role play. A little past perfect going on. Love it. Love it. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

Interesting pointing out the grammar tenses, because when it comes to these prepositions, we can't use like present simple. And then just choose for since or during and expect it to be correct. These are often going to be past tenses. Past perfect. Past perfect. Progressive, depending on the meaning of the sentence.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, let's go through it and look at the tenses, too. So we said. You said we've been here for about a month, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So that have been here. We have the past perfect here. And then four about our present perfect. Present perfect for about a month. So we're choosing four because we're naming the duration of time after duration of time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. And then you said we didn't want to move during the school year, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. And here we're naming the event that it happened during. Right. That's the school year. We didn't want to move in the middle of the school year. During the school year. Yes.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And then I asked you where you moved from. You said Chicago. Great city, by the way. And you said we had lived there since 2002. And so that's two steps back from the present, Right. It's not the past tense. It's before the past. Yeah. Nice. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

And then you said it had been a while since you moved. So again, the past perfect. Because like you said, we're talking about two steps. We're imagining ourselves in Chicago in the past.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

And then we're saying before that it had been a while since you moved. So we use past perfect.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And. And I will say that on the show, we do say, and I think it is true, you don't often see the past perfect in conversations. It just doesn't come up that Much. But this is a realistic conversation, so you do need to know it, obviously. Right. Because it will come up sometimes.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly right. This is the exact kind of, kind of scenario where you're asking someone, oh, what happened before that?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And then you said, yes, we hadn't moved for over 20 years. Love it. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

Again, best, perfect, had not moved. 4. And then again, we're using 4 here because we're sharing the duration of time. For 20 years.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, a duration of time. All right, so hopefully that clarified for our listeners. Aubry, what do we need to know next?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, we definitely want to do part two here because these verb tenses are a little tricky and it can be difficult to know if you're choosing for since or during which verb tense should you choose. And we do hear a lot of mistakes where someone will choose past simple. They might say he lives here for three years or he lives here during three years. So often we're kind of. Because we're trying to use the correct preposition, we can't also think about the verb. There's a lot to think about here. So we'll definitely do a part two.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, we'll come back to it and send in your questions. If these episodes spark any questions, send them in to support allearsenglish.com and hit the follow button to get that part two episode. Aubrey, any final thoughts for our listeners?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, I think it's so important to not translate from your first language. You're not alone. We find ourselves doing it too. But it is going to cause us to make these mistakes with preposition choice, with verb tenses that work differently in other languages. So instead, be, you know, observant of language as you're taking it in so that you'll know you know how to replicate it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, I love that.

[Aubrey Carter]

Great.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Final thought. All right, Aubry, well, thanks for being on the show today and I will see you back on here very soon. All right, awesome.

[Aubrey Carter]

See you next time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, take care. Bye Bye. Thanks for listening to Allears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com fluencyscore and if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

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