Word
ago
US/əˈɡoʊ/
UK/ɐɡˈəʊ/
Definitions
01before now
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.
日本語:前※
“I finished my homework two hours ago and now I am watching TV.”
“The company was founded over a century ago by a group of local merchants who saw a gap in the shipping market.”
Usage
Always follows the time expression (e.g., 'ten minutes ago', not 'ago ten minutes').
Pitfall
I 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.
Synonyms
Antonyms
02gone or passed
C2 · Proficiency Archaic · Literary · Dialect
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.
“In the days long ago, people traveled everywhere by horse.”
“The old traditions are now long ago, replaced by the rapid pace of modern industrial life.”
Usage
Usually appears as a post-positive adjective or as the variant 'agone'.
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “ago” in context.
Confusables
Ago counts back from the present moment, while before relates one past event to an even earlier time.
RememberAgo = back from now. Before = back from then.
Etymology
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.
Idioms
Grammar
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Very common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/ago
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0