E8 M - For and since in meaningful contexts
aiMOOCE8 M - For and since in meaningful contexts
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E8 M - For and since in meaningful contexts
Mini-description: Use for and since in meaningful present-perfect contexts to talk about a duration or a starting point.
Level: English as a first foreign language, Year 8, Baden-Württemberg, M-level.
Look first. A clock and a calendar both tell us about time. In English, for answers the idea “how long?”, while since points to “from when?”.
Media start
Watch 0:00–2:40 first. Do not translate every sentence. Listen for:
- for + a period of time
- since + a starting point
- present perfect for situations that started before now and still matter now
Try: Write down one example with for and one with since from the video.
Ask: What is the difference between a period and a starting point?
Hint: A period can be two weeks. A starting point can be Monday.
Deutsch-Hilfe: for nennt einen Zeitraum, since einen Startpunkt.
I-can goals
By the end, you can say:
- I can use for with a duration.
- I can use since with a starting point.
- I can ask and answer How long ...? questions.
- I can understand the pattern in short videos, dialogues and texts.
- I can explain and correct common mistakes.
- I can use the pattern in speaking and writing about school, hobbies and everyday life.
What you already know
You already need:
- the present perfect: have/has + past participle
- common past participles such as lived, played, known, been, had
- basic time words such as day, week, month, year, Monday, 2024
Quick check:
I have lived here for three years.
She has been in the club since September.
If these forms look familiar, continue. If not, revise present perfect first.
Context: Four fictional profiles
All profiles below are fictional.
Maya, 14: “I have played the guitar for four years. I have been in our school band since Year 6.”
Noah, 13: “I have known Maya for two years. We have worked on songs together since last autumn.”
Lena, 14: “I have lived in Ulm since 2023. I have gone to my new school for nearly three years.”
Sam, 13: “I have had my bike for six months. I have used it for the school journey since March.”
Notice: The situation began in the past and reaches the present.
Functional grammar: for or since?
for + period
for two hours – for three days – for six months – for a long time
since + starting point
since Monday – since 2024 – since last summer – since I was ten
Present perfect pattern
subject + have/has + past participle + for/since ...
Examples:
I have lived here for three years.
She has played volleyball since 2024.
We have known each other for a long time.
He has been at this school since September.
Think of a timeline: since marks one point on the line. for measures the distance from that point to now.
Meaning first, form second
Choose the meaning before the word.
Question 1: Is the expression a period?
Then use for.
Question 2: Is the expression a starting point?
Then use since.
Question 3: Does the situation continue to now?
Then the present perfect often fits.
Example: Maya started guitar four years ago and still plays now.
→ Maya has played the guitar for four years.
How long ...?
Use How long ...? to ask about duration.
How long have you lived here?
I have lived here for five years.
How long has Leo known Sara?
He has known her since Year 7.
Try: Make one question about a hobby and one about school.
Hint: Start with How long have you ...?
Listening and viewing
First viewing: Watch without stopping. What is the main contrast?
Second viewing: Pause after examples. Sort each time phrase into for or since.
Third viewing: Say the answer before the speaker gives it.
Challenge: Explain why your answer fits the meaning.
German help if needed: Frage Dich zuerst: Zeitraum oder Startpunkt?
Listening task: school radio
Read the speaker lines once, then cover them and let a partner read them aloud at a natural, moderate pace.
Ava: “I’ve been at Riverside School since 2024. I joined the media club last year.”
Ben: “I’ve been in the club for nine months. I’ve known Ava since September.”
Ava: “We’ve worked on the school podcast for six months.”
Ben: “And our new microphone has been here since January.”
Task: Listen for four time phrases and decide whether each gives a period or a starting point.
Feedback: If you hear a number plus a unit, check for. If you hear a date, day or event used as a start, check since.
Reading
Adapted school magazine text
A new place to study
Our school library has changed a lot. It has had a quiet study area since last September. Students have used the area for almost a year. Maya has worked there after school since January because she likes the calm atmosphere. Her friend Noah has borrowed English graphic novels for several months. They have also helped with the student book display since spring.
Try:
- Find two expressions that show a duration.
- Find three expressions that show a starting point.
- Explain why the present perfect fits this text.
Hint: The changes or activities still connect to now.
Context vocabulary
Use the words in short speaking tasks rather than learning them alone.
duration – a period of time
starting point – the moment something began
join a club – become a member
move to a place – start living there
know someone – have a relationship or contact over time
borrow – take something for a limited time and return it
recently – not long ago
still – continuing now
so far – until now
How long ...? – question about duration
Pronunciation
Focus on clear rhythm, not on sounding like a native speaker.
Say these chunks:
for three years
since last Monday
for a long time
since I was ten
In natural speech, for is often less strongly stressed than the important time word.
Try: Read the full sentence with stress on the key information:
I’ve lived here for THREE YEARS.
She’s known him since LAST SUMMER.
Private recording option: You may record yourself only if you want to. Keep the recording private unless you actively decide otherwise. No upload is required.
Speaking
Pair task: Time detectives
Student A asks. Student B answers with a true or fictional sentence.
How long have you ...?
Possible contexts:
- lived in your town
- had a hobby
- known a friend
- studied English
- been in a club
Then switch roles.
Follow-up: Give one reason or extra detail.
Example:
A: How long have you played basketball?
B: I’ve played basketball for four years. I joined because my cousin was already in the team.
Accuracy check: Did you use for with a period and since with a starting point?
Informal discussion
In groups of three, discuss:
Which activity is easier to continue for a long time: a sport, an instrument or a club? Why?
Use at least two present-perfect sentences with for or since.
Do not focus only on grammar. Give reasons and react to another idea.
Useful phrases:
I think ... because ...
I agree, but ...
In my experience ...
I’ve done this for ...
Writing
Task: A short profile
Write 90–120 words about a fictional teenager. Include:
- school or town
- one hobby
- one friendship or group
- one current project
- at least two sentences with for
- at least two sentences with since
Plan first:
Name: fictional
Started when?
How long until now?
What has changed?
Check: Do not replace your whole text with AI output. If you use AI support, check the level, grammar, facts and feedback yourself.
Professional-style mini message
Write a short, polite message to a fictional youth-club leader.
Example context:
You have been in the club for one year and have helped with events since February. Ask whether you can join the planning team.
Keep the message clear, friendly and structured.
Mediation
A German-speaking exchange partner asks what for and since mean in the following sentence:
I have lived in Bristol for three years, and I have played in the school band since September.
Explain the meaning in simple German without translating the whole sentence word for word.
Goal: Pass on the important information, not every form.
Step-by-step help
Help 1 – meaning: Is it a period or a starting point?
Help 2 – signal: two years → period; 2024 → starting point.
Help 3 – structure: have/has + past participle.
Help 4 – model: I have lived here for two years. I have lived here since 2024.
Help 5 – German support: Zeitraum → for; Startpunkt → since.
Use only as much help as you need.
Direct feedback
Check your sentence in this order:
- Meaning: Does the situation connect to now?
- Form: Is there have/has + past participle?
- Time phrase: Period = for? Starting point = since?
- Clarity: Is the sentence easy to understand?
Example:
Wrong: I have lived here since three years.
Better: I have lived here for three years.
Why? Three years is a period.
Error analysis
Correct the mistakes and explain them.
1. I have known Luca for 2024.
2. She has lived here since five months.
3. We are in this club for two years.
4. How long you have had that bike?
5. He has joined the team since September.
Possible thinking:
2024 = start → since
five months = period → for
continuing situation → present perfect
question → How long have you ...?
For a continuing membership, use a state that reaches now: He has been in the team since September.
Transfer
Imagine you are on a school exchange in an English-speaking city.
Create four sentences about the fictional exchange:
- one about where you have stayed
- one about a new friend
- one about a school activity
- one about a project
Use for twice and since twice.
Then add one How long ...? question for a partner.
Grammar boundary for E8 M
In this course, focus productively on the present perfect and for/since.
You may meet the passive in texts and can use familiar passive forms when needed.
You may meet past perfect or reported language in reading, but they are not the target here.
For M-level follow-up work, passive forms and reported speech with backshift, questions and commands can be practised productively in later courses.
The past perfect progressive is not a production target here.
Can-do check
Choose: yes – almost – not yet.
- I can explain the difference between for and since.
- I can use for with a period.
- I can use since with a starting point.
- I can ask How long ...?
- I can correct a typical for/since mistake.
- I can use the pattern in a short conversation.
- I can use the pattern in a short text.
If you choose almost or not yet, repeat one media task and one speaking or writing task.
Interaktive Aufgaben
Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen
Which sentence is correct? (I have lived here for three years.) (!I have lived here since three years.) (!I live here since three years.) (!I have lived here for 2023.)
Which time phrase normally follows since? (last Monday) (!two weeks) (!five months) (!a long time)
Which time phrase normally follows for? (six months) (!2024) (!Monday) (!last summer)
Complete: She has known Mia ___ Year 6. (since) (!for) (!ago) (!during)
Complete: We have been in the club ___ two years. (for) (!since) (!ago) (!from)
Which question asks about duration? (How long have you lived here?) (!When do you live here?) (!How often did you live here?) (!Where have you lived yesterday?)
Which form is the present perfect? (have played) (!played yesterday) (!am playing) (!will play)
Which sentence describes a situation that started in the past and continues now? (He has been at this school since September.) (!He was at this school yesterday.) (!He will be at this school tomorrow.) (!He is at school at the moment.)
Why do we use for in for four years? (It gives a period of time.) (!It gives one starting point.) (!It gives a future plan.) (!It gives a place.)
Why do we use since in since 2023? (It gives the starting point.) (!It gives the total duration.) (!It gives a repeated action.) (!It gives a comparison.)
Memory
| for | period of time |
| since | starting point |
| three years | duration |
| Monday | start day |
| How long | duration question |
| have known | present perfect |
Drag and Drop
| Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu. | Thema |
|---|---|
| for | two months |
| since | last Friday |
| for | a long time |
| since | 2024 |
| for | several weeks |
Kreuzworträtsel
| duration | What does for usually express? |
| startingpoint | What does since usually express? |
| participle | Which verb form follows have or has in the present perfect? |
| question | What type of sentence begins with How long? |
| period | Is two months a starting point or a period? |
| presentperfect | Which tense is central in this course? |
LearningApps
Lückentext
Offene Aufgaben
Leicht
- Sort it: Create ten time phrases and sort them into for and since.
- Mini interview: Ask a partner three How long ...? questions and note short answers.
- Timeline: Draw a simple timeline and add one since point and one for period.
- Picture prompt: Choose one Commons image from this course and write three suitable present-perfect sentences.
Standard
- Fictional profile: Create a fictional teen profile with four correct for/since sentences.
- Dialogue: Write and perform a 10-line conversation about hobbies, school and friends.
- Error detective: Invent five typical errors, exchange them with a partner and explain the corrections.
- Private audio: If you want, record a 45-second private audio about a fictional hobby history. Do not upload it unless you actively choose to.
Schwer
- Short report: Write 120–150 words about a fictional school project and combine facts, reasons and present-perfect time expressions.
- Media analysis: Rewatch one embedded grammar video and create a one-page learning guide with examples and your own explanations.
- Mediation challenge: Explain a short English for/since profile in simple German for a learner who needs help, without translating every sentence.
- Mini presentation: Give a two-minute presentation about how long fictional activities have continued and answer one follow-up question.
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Lernkontrolle
- Meaning: Explain why for three years and since 2023 cannot normally be exchanged.
- Context choice: Decide whether present perfect, simple past or another familiar form fits five short contexts and justify your choice.
- Error reasoning: Correct four sentences and explain each correction using period, starting point or present perfect.
- Dialogue transfer: Create a short school-club dialogue with two for and two since examples plus reasons.
- Writing transfer: Write a coherent fictional profile and show how the time information connects past and present.
- Listening transfer: After hearing a short partner-read text, reconstruct the relevant time phrases and explain the choice of for or since.
Lernnachweis
For a successful learning record, you should show that you can:
- distinguish period and starting point
- form the present perfect correctly
- use for and since in meaningful contexts
- ask and answer How long ...? questions
- understand the pattern in short listening, viewing and reading texts
- correct typical errors and explain why
- transfer the pattern to speaking and writing
- use support tools critically without replacing your own work
OERs zum Thema
Optional extension: Use the video for extra listening. Stop after a useful example, predict the next form, then check.
Media and safety note
The images in this course are Wikimedia Commons files. Check the file page for the exact licence and attribution information if you reuse them outside MOOCwiki.
The embedded videos come from established English-learning channels on YouTube.
Use only fictional profiles in your own tasks. Do not publish private social-media data.
Recordings are voluntary and can stay private. No external upload is needed.
Do not send personal learner data to external AI tools without an approved school process.
If you use AI for language support, check the level, facts, grammar and feedback yourself. Your own speaking and writing should remain your work.
Folgekurs
Next, practise a wider contrast between present perfect and simple past.
Then move on to present-perfect questions and extended contexts and later to M-level work with passive voice and reported speech.
Verknüpfte Lernbereiche