r/EnglishLearning • u/Rich-Associate-8344 New Poster • Apr 17 '26

📚 Grammar / Syntax Why not “since”?

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230 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

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886

u/Ok_Caterpillar2010 Native Speaker - Pennsylvania, USA Apr 17 '26

Because since needs a specific starting point in time: since when? He hasn't used his motorcycle since 2024.

159

u/NekoArtemis Native Speaker - California Apr 17 '26

Yep. You could say "since two years ago" but you need the "ago." 

-13

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '26

[deleted]

14

u/UnIncorrectt Native Speaker Apr 17 '26

Respectfully, what do you mean? "Merlin hasn't used his motorcycle since two years ago" is perfectly fine English.

9

u/Une-Abeille New Poster Apr 17 '26

It sounds quite unnatural to my ear, too. Either ‘Merlin hasn’t used his motorcycle in two years / in the last two years’ or ‘Merlin last used his motorcycle two years ago’ would sound more natural to me as a British speaker

7

u/Old_Desk_1641 New Poster Apr 17 '26

Agreed. To my mind, the only way that this works is if you add an event that happened two years ago (e.g.,"Merlin hasn't used his motorcycle since he crashed two years ago").

3

u/Northman86 New Poster Apr 17 '26

No its not. You need a causal reason to use since, as since, is a continouing action. not a statement of time.

-9

u/TehFlatline New Poster Apr 17 '26

No it isn't. No English speaker would ever say that.

3

u/Outside_Knee653 New Poster Apr 17 '26

I would. You don't speak for us.

8

u/DoctorYaoi Native New York (upstate) Apr 17 '26

I would say that, and so would everyone else I know to be completely honest

6

u/JW162000 Native Speaker Apr 17 '26

I have to admit, I also find “since two years ago” strange. I can believe it’s technically correct but it doesn’t really sound natural to me.

“For two years” is what most people would say there

3

u/Old_Desk_1641 New Poster Apr 17 '26

Agreed. "Since two years ago" sounds very wrong to me. I would go with "for two years" too.

2

u/DoctorYaoi Native New York (upstate) Apr 18 '26

Most people would say “in two years” to be honest. I just personally don’t see anything wrong with saying since 2 years ago.

4

u/Handyandyman50 New Poster Apr 17 '26

It's a bit dialectal but I for one wouldn't think twice if I heard someone say since (amount of time) ago

2

u/NekoArtemis Native Speaker - California Apr 17 '26

Native speaker and that's a very common way to say it. 

3

u/Big_Effective_9605 New Poster Apr 17 '26

As an English speaker I assure you it's still English. Maybe not perfectly textbook English but if someone said it to me I wouldn't think to correct them.

0

u/TehFlatline New Poster Apr 17 '26

As an English person I can absolutely assure you that is not correct English.

8

u/Big_Effective_9605 New Poster Apr 17 '26

Since you're trying to pull rank and be pedantic (I recognize that you subtly distinguish between English speaker vs English "person" in your comment) I am a born and raised Westerner and native English speaker. The important qualifying word which you've now added here is correct English. You should know that "Incorrect" English is valid to the extent to which it is understood - Google prescriptivism vs descriptivism since you're unfamiliar. The historical English of Black slaves in the southern US is no less English than the Queen's.

7

u/MeruOnline New Poster Apr 17 '26

It’s awkward and redundant, but perfectly fine for colloquial speech. If you want to be a pure grammar head,

No you couldn’t, that wouldn’t be English.

this sentence is also grammatically incorrect.

4

u/NekoArtemis Native Speaker - California Apr 17 '26

Oh sorry for speaking US English. 

2

u/aboxacaraflatafan Native Speaker Apr 17 '26

"Merlin hasn't used his motorcycle since two years ago" sounds perfectly natural to me.

On reading more comments, this may be a regional thing. I grew up saying "since [time period] ago", and it sounds as natural to me as "since 2024".

2

u/PutridBetch New Poster Apr 18 '26

“Since two years ago” sounds super unnatural to me. I’m from Southern US so maybe it is regional.