ago
- 01 A1 Beginner
adv.in the past, counting back from the present time.
adv.at a specified distance in the past from the moment of speaking. It functions as a postpositional adverb following a noun phrase of duration.
Simple“I finished my homework two hours ago and now I am watching TV.”
In context“The company was founded over a century ago by a group of local merchants who saw a gap in the shipping market.”
UsageAlways follows the time expression (e.g., 'ten minutes ago', not 'ago ten minutes').
PitfallI moved here since three years. I moved here three years ago.Use 'ago' to measure back from now to a specific point in the past. Use 'since' to mark the starting point of an action that continues until now.
SynonymsAntonymshencefrom now - 02 C2 Proficiency
adj.gone or finished in the past.
adj.denoting a time or state that has passed or departed. This use is largely restricted to fixed literary phrases or specific regional dialects.
Simple“In the days long ago, people traveled everywhere by horse.”
In context“The old traditions are now long ago, replaced by the rapid pace of modern industrial life.”
UsageUsually appears as a post-positive adjective or as the variant 'agone'.
ago vs before — Ago counts back from the present moment, while before relates one past event to an even earlier time.
Usage ago another years · ago killed · ago making
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h₂u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-der. Proto-Germanic *gāną Proto-West Germanic *gān Proto-West Germanic *uʀgān Old English āgān Middle English agon English ago From Middle English ago, agon (“passed”), past participle of agon (“to depart, escape, pass”), from Old English āgān (“to go away, pass away, go forth, come to pass”), from Proto-Germanic uz- (“out”), gāną (“to go”), equivalent to a- + gone, and by surface analysis, a- + go. Cognate with German ergehen (“to come to pass, fare, go forth”). Compare also Old Saxon āgangan (“to go or pass by”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌰𐌽 (usgaggan, “to go forth”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.