1. Counting from now vs. a set time

A common mistake non-native English speakers make is when measuring between two times.

• When measuring between two times, people use ‘before’ or ‘after’.
• However, when one of the times is now, people use ‘ago’ or ‘in…time’.

2. Ago vs. before

‘Ago’ measures time before now.

Time 1	Time 2	Example sentence
Now	Now – 2 minutes	She heard the news 2 minutes ago.
Now	Now – 5 years	I came to Shanghai 5 years ago.
Now	Now – 20 years	He graduated 20 years ago.

‘Before’ measures time before another event. ‘Before’ structures must have two different events.

Time 1	Time 2	Example sentence
He came to Shanghai	He came to Shanghai – 2 months	I came to Shanghai 2 months before he did.
I met her	I met her – one year	He graduated one year before I met her.
Your game will be played	Your game will be played – x	Our game will be played before yours.

3. In…time vs. after

‘In…time’ measures time after now.
*Note: ‘In…time’ can be shortened to ‘in…’.

Time 1	Time 2	Example sentence
Now	now + 3 months	I will change jobs in 3 months time.
Now	now + 5 minutes	He will go home in 5 minutes.
Now	now + 10 years	Julia will retire in 10 years time.

‘After’ measures time after another event. ‘After’ structures must have two different events.

Time 1	Time 2	Example sentence
I ate dinner	I ate dinner + 5 minutes	I felt sick 5 minutes after I ate dinner.
He changed job	He changed job + 2 weeks	I changed jobs 2 weeks after he did.
He finishes work	He finishes work + x	He will go home after he finishes his work.

4. Exercises

1. Answer these questions:
(i) What did you do 2 days ago?
(ii) What are you going to do in 5 hours time?
(iii) What did you do before you ate breakfast today?
(iv) What are you going to do after you retire?

2. Describe what you did/will do on these days:
(i) Today (using ‘ago’ and ‘in…time’)
(ii) Yesterday (using ‘before’ and ‘after’)