the difference between For & Since

The Difference between For and Since 

 1- For : used with a period of time (can be used with the past, present or future )
   we use for to talk about an amount of time or space.it could be seconds, minutes, hours, days, months or even years

ex: -  I have been studying English for 10 years .
      -  I have been trying to reach you for 3 days.
      -  We have been friends for 2 months.
      -  I will be staying there for 2 weeks.
      -  She is staying with us for a week.
      -  He slept for 20 hours.

2-Since : used to refer to a specific point in time ( it can refer to a point after a specific time or event in the past, a particular point beginning sometime in the past and continuing until the present time)

ex: - I haven't seen her since 2010.
      - I haven't slept since yesterday.
      - I have been working as an accountant since 2015.
      - She hasn't eaten anything since this morning.
       - He has been running since 10 am.

Tenses :1- Present Simple tense

Tenses

What is a tense ?

it is a grammatical category that helps locate a situation in time and it can be present , past or future .

There are 12 tenses in English :

• Present Tense

1. Simple 
2. Continuous
3. perfect
4. perfect continuous

• Past Tense

1. Simple
2. Continuous
3. perfect
4. perfect continuous

• Future

1. Simple
2. Continuous
3. perfect
4. perfect continuous

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Present Tense

1. The Present Simple Tense:

It encodes information about an aspect in the present time.

➤Form :

• Declarative sentence :

Subject                       +   Verb                                         +  Object

(I, You, We, They )   → (base verb : Play , walk ...etc.) 

                                                                                          ⇘

                                                                                             +( Food , Tv.....etc)

(He, she , it )           →(Base verb + s/es .. walks , eats..)⇗
 

Examples :

• I play Football.
• I like coffee.
• She learns French once a week.
• The student enters the classroom and greets his teacher. 

 

• Negative sentence :

Subject                    + (Don't-Doesn't)  + Verb             + Object

(I , you, they , we) +  Don't    +⇘

                                                       Base verb ( talk, make ..) + Object

(He , she , it )         + Doesn't +⇗

Examples :

• They don't live in France anymore.
• She doesn't like summer.
• He doesn't speak Arabic.
• Spring doesn't start in November.

• Questions:

Do - Does    +     Subject    +   Verb    +   Object

Examples :

• Does she go to school ?
• Do you speak Japanese ?
• Does he play tennis everyday ?
• Do you like apples ?

➧Note:

1. For positive sentences we don't normally use the Auxiliary verbs.
2. we add (s) for singular nouns , and (es) when the verb end with (ss-sh-ch-x-z-o)
3. we don't use an Auxiliary verb with Verb to be even for negative and questions.

Examples:

• I am French.
• They are not French.
• Am I late?
• Are we late ?

➤Usage:

1. Facts , Generalization & universal truths.
2. Habits & Routines.
3. Permanent situations.
4. Events certain to happen.
5. Future arrangements.
6. State verbs
7. Narrations , Instructions or commentaries.

• Facts , Generalization & universal truths :

Examples:

• Water boils at 100 degrees c. (Universal truth)
• It is a big house. (fact)
• The Earth goes around the sun. (universal truth , fact)
• The Dog doesn't fly.(fact) 

• Habits & Routines

actions that happen frequently (tendencies, habits and routines)

Examples:

• I leave for university 7 am every morning. (Routine)
• My parents watch the TV in the evening.(Habit & routine)
• she meets her friends every weekend. (habit)

• Permanent situations:

situations that last a relatively long time

Examples:

• I live in China.
• She works as a teacher.

• Events certain to happen:

Events that are certain to happen in the future.

Examples:

• School starts on Sep. 10.
• My brother turns 21 next week.
• winter starts on Dec. 21.

• State verbs:

Examples:

• I like singing.
• I know this girl.
• he likes playing  the guitar.

• Future arrangements:

Examples:

• the plane takes off at 4 pm.
• the train leaves at the noon.
• when does the meeting start?

• Narrations , instructions or commentaries:

Like telling a story ,  book instructions , sports commentaries....etc.

➱Note:

those adverbs of frequency will always be used with the present simple tense:

(Always , Frequently , often ,usually, seldom, rarely , nowadays , never, every ,sometimes, occasionally , from time to time , every now and then.)

 Examples:

• I usually wake up around 7 am in the morning.
• I go to work everyday.
• I often meet my friends after work.
• I go to the gym frequently.
• I never eat late .

Accept & Except

The words, 'accept' and 'except' are homophones which are often confused by English speakers. 'Accept' is a verb which means 'to receive' or 'to agree'. Most of the time 'except' is used as a preposition which means 'excluding'.

The following examples will make the usage clear.

ACCEPT (VERB)	EXCEPT (PREPOSITION)
Amit accepted the job offer.	I can come with you on all days except Sunday.
Emma accepted the allegation that she had cheated.	All the athletes except Peter finished the race.
He accepted the invitation to the party.	Everyone except Jason was invited to the party.

The difference between There , Their & They're

Many speakers tend to get confused between 'There', 'Their' and 'They're' and knowing how to use these three words correctly is an important step in learning English.

The words 'There' and' Their' are homophones. Homophones are words that are spelt differently but pronounced the same. It is a common mistake to replace one for the other.

'There' always refers to a place, whether concrete or abstract, whereas 'Their' shows belonging or possession. 'They're, on the other hand, is the short form of they are

Let's look at these examples for each of them

THERE:

How can anyone live there?

Let's go there.

There will be a party tomorrow,

THEIR:

Let us buy their car.

Let us not go to their house.

Return their books tomorrow.

THEY'RE:

They're sitting there in their car.

In this sentence, notice how 'there' is used to signify a place whereas 'their' is used to show possession. The word 'they're' is a contraction of the word 'they' and 'are' and should not be confused with 'their' and 'there'.