“I work here since 5 years.”
If you’re a French speaker, you’ve probably said something like this. And you were understood — but it’s wrong in two ways. Let me explain the rule once, so you never get it wrong again.
The Problem: French Has One Word, English Has Two
In French, “depuis” does everything:
– “J’habite ici depuis 2019” (a point in time)
– “J’habite ici depuis 5 ans” (a duration)
English splits this into two words with different rules:
| English | When to use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Since | A specific point in time | since Monday, since 2019, since I was a child |
| For | A duration / length of time | for 3 days, for 2 years, for a long time |
The test is simple: Can you put a number of [time units] after it? → Use for.
Is it a date, day, month, or event? → Use since.
Examples to Make It Click
✅ I have worked here for five years.
✅ I have worked here since 2021.
✅ She has been waiting for 20 minutes.
✅ She has been waiting since 3 o’clock.
✅ We’ve known each other for a long time.
✅ We’ve known each other since university.
✅ He hasn’t eaten for hours.
✅ He hasn’t eaten since breakfast.
The Second Mistake: The Tense
Even once you choose the right word, French speakers often use the wrong tense. In French, you use the present tense with “depuis”: “Je travaille ici depuis 5 ans.”
In English, you must use the present perfect (or present perfect continuous):
❌ I work here for 5 years.
✅ I have worked here for 5 years.
✅ I have been working here for 5 years.
Both the present perfect simple and continuous are correct here. The continuous version emphasizes the ongoing nature of the action.
The Negative Form
This follows the same rule:
❌ I don’t see him since January.
✅ I haven’t seen him since January.
❌ She doesn’t work here since 3 years.
✅ She hasn’t worked here for 3 years.
Quick Reference Table
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je vis ici depuis 2020. | I have lived here since 2020. |
| Je vis ici depuis 4 ans. | I have lived here for 4 years. |
| Il pleut depuis ce matin. | It has been raining since this morning. |
| Il pleut depuis 2 heures. | It has been raining for 2 hours. |
| Depuis quand es-tu ici ? | How long have you been here? |
Practice Exercise
Fill in with “since” or “for”:
- I’ve been studying English ___ six months.
- She’s lived in London ___ 2018.
- We haven’t spoken ___ the meeting last week.
- They’ve been married ___ over 20 years.
- He’s been sleeping ___ noon.
Answers: 1. for, 2. since, 3. since, 4. for, 5. since
The Trick That Always Works
Still confused? Replace “depuis” with either:
– “starting from [moment]” → since
– “during [amount of time]” → for
If both sound okay, check: is there a specific moment (date, event, time)? → since. Is there a quantity of time? → for.
Master this (and more) with LEFO
This lesson is one of our most popular Survival English modules. In our live sessions, we practice until it becomes automatic — no more thinking about the rule, you just say it right.
Related articles: 10 English Mistakes French Speakers Make | Present Perfect Explained for French Speakers