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x months ago

fixed phr..
A1 Beginner Oxford

fixed phr.. A phrase used to say when something happened in the past. You replace 'X' with a number to show how many months before now it was.

fixed phr.. A temporal adverbial phrase indicating a point in time a specified number of months prior to the present moment. The 'X' is a variable slot for a cardinal number.


SIMPLE

We started this project two months ago.

CONTEXTUAL

She graduated from university six months ago and has been looking for a job ever since.

COMPLEX

The policy was enacted twelve months ago, yet its long-term effects on the regional economy remain largely unquantified by analysts.

Usage

This phrase is used with the simple past tense to talk about a specific, finished time in the past.

Teaching tip

Contrast 'X months ago' (a specific point in the past, requiring simple past tense) with 'for X months' (a duration, often used with present perfect).

Pitfall

I have started my new job three months ago.I started my new job three months ago.The word 'ago' refers to a finished time in the past, so it requires the simple past tense, not the present perfect.

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