Hi there and welcome back to Harry's lessons. And if you haven't already subscribed to our
channel, just press the button and you'll get there very, very quickly and be able to
sign up in no time at all. So what are we going to talk to you about today? Well, we're
going to talk to you about time words. Okay. So these are expressions that we use about
time. So I go through each of them and then I'll give you some examples and hopefully
you'll be able to understand exactly what they mean because I know they cause some people
a few problems. So the first one we have is AGO. A.G.O. So ago is referring to back in
time in the past. Okay. It's all about back. So here we're using the simple past. Okay.
So when we use it, we use the simple past in terms of the verb tense.
So we talk…Let me give you an example, that's probably the easiest way. So when we talk
about a goal, we can say something like two weeks ago. So it's back in time. Okay. You're
travelling back in time, like Dr Who, okay, so back in time, two weeks ago, two months
ago, two days ago. So here's an example. You meet your friend and you're walking down the
street and you're asking them about some other friend Jane. He says: ‘Oh yes, Jane, she
moved to Canada two weeks ago.’ So he's talking about two weeks that from the time
that you met him two weeks ago. Okay. So I submitted my CV for that job three months
ago and I haven't heard anything yet. So back in time. Three months ago from now, you sent
in a CV application and you haven't heard anything about the job.
Okay. So the next time word I want to use is Before. B. E. F. O. R. E. in our first
example, when we're using a go, we said when we spoke to Paul that Jane had moved to Canada
two weeks ago. So when you met him two weeks ago, when we use before we can use the same
example and say the last time I met Paul, so that could have been last week or the week
before that. The last time I met Paul, he had told me that Jane had moved to Canada
two weeks before. Two weeks before the date you last met Paul. Okay. So if you met them
on Friday, then it was two weeks before that. Two weeks in the past. Okay. So before is
talking about again about history.
But we can also use before with the simple present and the simple past. Let me give you
two examples.
I will leave before he comes. Meaning I will leave the office, I will leave the meeting,
I will leave home before he comes. Simple present. Okay. Or the simple past. He completed
or did or finished his homework (all simple past) before he had dinner. Simple past. Okay.
So simple present and simple past. And then with the historic at use of before. Okay.
The next time word I want to use is SINCE. S.I.N.C.E. So this again can be a little bit
confusing, but we use it with the perfect tenses present, perfect or past perfect depending
on the circumstances. So let me give you a good understanding of how we use it. So let's
say I have been living in this particular house for 19 years. Okay. So that means today
is 2019. 19 years ago when I moved in would have been the year 2000. So when I use the
word since it takes me back to the past, brings me up to the present and tells me that I've
been living here since a particular date or year.
So now 2019 I've lived in the house for 19 years. I go back 19 years to 2000 the year
2000 so I can tell you I have lived in this house or I have been living in this house
since 2000 or since the year 2000. So it takes me back to the past and brings me right up
to the present. And I am still living in this house. So I have lived here - present perfect.
Or I have been living here - present perfect continuous. I have been living here since
the year 2000 since May, 2000 okay. So that's about since.
The next time word that I have for you is FOR. Now, since and four always get confused.
When we're using the word FOR, we're talking about a duration period of time. So let's
go back to my example about the house here. Living here since the year 2000 started in
the past.
It brings me up to the present. I can say it in the exact same way by saying I have
been living here for 19 years, for 19 years, the duration of 19 years. Again, it started
in the past. It brings me up to the present. I have been living here for a period of 19
years. I've been living here for 19 years. Okay.
And the next time word that I want to use is ALREADY. A.L.R.E.A.D.Y. Already. And this
again we use with the perfect tenses. It either comes in the middle of the sentence or at
the end of the sentence and it tells you something that has already happened. Okay. She had already
left the party before he arrived. She had already left the party before he arrived using
it in the task preference. She had already left the party before he arrived. So already
is in the middle of that sentence.
Yeah. Did you post that letter for me? Yes, I've posted already. I have posted it already.
Here present perfect. I have have plus the past participle posted. I have posted it already
and here we have already at the end of the sentence. So you can have it in the middle.
You can have it at the end, you can use it with the past perfect. And you can use it
with the present perfect. Okay. And the next time word then is YET Y.E.T. And this one
is a bit different so be careful. We only use it with negative statements and questions.
Okay. And it's always about something that hasn't been completed. It isn't finished.
So you're asking a question about whether something has done as has been done or you're
asking us making a stable as something in the negative. Okay. So it's always about something
incomplete.
How's he finished his dinner yet? So question you're asking, has the child or the person
completed his meal? Has he finished his dinner yet? Present perfect. Has he finished? Okay.
And then if you want to put it into a negative statement, he hasn't called me yet. He hasn't
called me yet. I'm getting very worried. So again, up to the time that you're talking
to the person, you haven't received a phone call, so it isn't complete that as an action
that hasn't finished. He hasn't called me yet. It's a negative statement. He has not
called me yet. I'm getting very worried all the time. It appears the word yet at the end
of the negative statement or at the end of the question. Okay. Okay. And then one I have
for you is STILL. This is the last time word. So we use this in positive statements or we
use it in questions.
It comes after the auxiliary verb and before the main verb. For example. Are you still
playing tennis? Question. Are you - auxiliary verb. Still - after the auxiliary verb. Play
- the main verb. Are you still playing tennis? Question mark. Positive statement. Yes. I
am still playing tennis. Yes, I am - auxiliary verb. Still - after the auxiliary verb. Playing
- before the main verb. Yes, I'm still playing tennis. Okay, so we've looked at ago, before,
since, four, yet and still. Okay. So hopefully you've got a good understanding of how to
use them. And if you want to contact us, of course, you can subscribe to our channel and
join me on www.englishlessonviaskype.com and subscribe, as I said, and we’ll see you
soon.