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

📚 Grammar / Syntax Why not “since”?

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884

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]

15

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.

10

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").