Category: Indian English

Since vs. for

 

since

 

At times, I have heard: “I’ve been working here from 2015.”

Actually it should be: “I’ve been working here since 2015.”

Or one can say: “I’ve been working here for two years.”

Here is how since and for are used:

since + point in time       (since 1906)

for + period of time        (for 10 years)

We do use from with time expressions, but in a different sense. Here are some examples:

The conference starts from tomorrow. 

The shop is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

And yes, by now you know why the ad is correct: Trusted since 1906.

In fact, from now on, you know the difference between since and for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How many Indianisms can you find in this letter?

out of station

There are three Indianisms in this letter. They are:

  1. out of station

Instead one can say: out of town.

2. kindly

This is a very common word in India. Nothing wrong with it, but do keep in mind that outside India, people usually say please instead of kindly.

3. the same

This, like kindly, is a classic example of Indianism. Instead of ‘the same’ one can say: ‘it’.

And so, the full sentence reads:

Please resend it.

For more on Indian English, check out this post.