Since

[irmamar]

Wy "since" instead of "from" in this sentence?:

I had been living there since 1980, but he told me my mother wanted me to go back home.

I think that the action is finished.

Thanks.

[bobjenkins]

Usualmente se dice "since" cuando hablar del hecho o año

We´ve been making whiskey since 1670

Traducido literalmente del español , desde me parece más cerca de " From",

No sé si "from 1980" es incorrecto pero me suena muy raro

[chileno]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Wy "since" instead of "from" in this sentence?:

I had been living there since 1980, but he told me my mother wanted me to go back home.

I think that the action is finished.

Thanks.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/since

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/from

Esto te va a gustar (me imagino)

[irmamar]

But an example in my book is:

I was a vegetarian from 1982.
I have been a vegetarian since 1982.

In Spanish: Fui vegetariana/he sido vegetariana desde 1982.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Wy "since" instead of "from" in this sentence?:

I had been living there since 1980, but he told me my mother wanted me to go back home.

I think that the action is finished.

Thanks.

Yes, the action is finished, but you are using the pluperfect, so in the past action, it was continuous. I'm afraid English is out of line here, and since is correct even though illogical, with no explanation to offer.

Originally Posted by irmamar

But an example in my book is:

I was a vegetarian from 1982.
I have been a vegetarian since 1982.

In Spanish: Fui vegetariana/he sido vegetariana desde 1982.

"I was a vegetarian from 1982" makes no sense to me taken on its own.

I have been a vegetarian since 1982 = and I still am.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by irmamar

But an example in my book is:

I was a vegetarian from 1982.
I have been a vegetarian since 1982.

In Spanish: Fui vegetariana/he sido vegetariana desde 1982.

I guess it can be said in both way, but since it is normally or more used when talking about distance in time and from for longitudinal distance.

[hermit]

I was a vegetarian from 1982 on (or "and I still am).

[Elaina]

Originally Posted by hermit

I was a vegetarian from 1982 on (or "and I still am).

That almost sounds like an unfinished sentence.

I was a vegetarian from 1982 on ........?? needs further information

I have been a vegetarian since 1982..... sounds final


I may be wrong but this is how it sounds to me.

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Yes, the action is finished, but you are using the pluperfect, so in the past action, it was continuous. I'm afraid English is out of line here, and since is correct even though illogical, with no explanation to offer.

I had lived there since 1978, ...
I had lived there from 1978 to 1980, ...
I had been living there since 1978, ...
I had been living there from 1978 to 1980, ...

No me parece ilógico. La lógica parece ser que si dices "from" tienes que decir hasta cuando. Además, si el verbo es continuo, no puedes decirlo (el último ejemplo).

Te toca: derrumbe mi teoría.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Elaina

That almost sounds like an unfinished sentence.

I was a vegetarian from 1982 on ........?? needs further information

I have been a vegetarian since 1982..... sounds final


I may be wrong but this is how it sounds to me.

I was a vegetarian from 1982 until now. I will start eating meat again.

I was a vegetarian from 1982 to 1985.

[Elaina]

That sounds much better Chileno.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Elaina

That sounds much better Chileno.

Sometimes I get it...

[irmamar]

So, the first sentence of the examples is wrong, something is lacking there, as Elaina pointed out.

Thanks everybody, I think I understand it now. A present for you all

[bobjenkins]

Originally Posted by irmamar

So, the first sentence of the examples is wrong, something is lacking there, as Elaina pointed out.

Thanks everybody, I think I understand it now. A present for you all

Zero hour is getting closer for your test, no? Espero que te venga bien!

100% for Irma!

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by Perikles

I'm afraid English is out of line here, and since is correct even though illogical, with no explanation to offer.

Originally Posted by pjt33

No me parece ilógico. La lógica parece ser que si dices "from" tienes que decir hasta cuando. Además, si el verbo es continuo, no puedes decirlo (el último ejemplo).

Te toca: derrumbe mi teoría.

I agree with you. I meant that English seems out of line with other European languages, not that the use of since in English is illogical. For example, Germans have difficulty with since, because they try to translate Ich wohne hier seit 10 Jahren as I live here since 10 years. They don't see they need a perfect tense in English where other languages use a present, plus they try to translate seit as since, which is often correct.

By the way, I have just noticed while watching a DVD of The Pallisers, from Trollope, that somebody says I have lived here since 50 years. So in Victorian times, that seemed acceptable.

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by Perikles

By the way, I have just noticed while watching a DVD of The Pallisers, from Trollope, that somebody says I have lived here since 50 years. So in Victorian times, that seemed acceptable.

Interesante.

[hermit]

One might not hear it much outside of the Canadian Maritime Provinces,
but around here it's very common to say "I've lived here since 50 years.",
or "I've known him since long.".

Many families came here from the British Isles in Victorian times...

[CrOtALiTo]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Wy "since" instead of "from" in this sentence?:

I had been living there since 1980, but he told me my mother wanted me to go back home.

I think that the action is finished.

Thanks.

I could see well wrote the phrase.

I'm living in Mexico since I'm a kid.

I'm living in Mexico since I'm young.

My brother is in the school since I have memory.

As you can see they are correct in the usage of the word since.
You only can use from when you need to express something related with a country or some sentence that it needed needs to takes from (Desde) point to point.

For instance.

The country longer of the world from Canada until Spain is Greenland.
This word is more used in the address from place to place.

Another example.

The Maldonado street is from the first avenue until my house, therefore I consider that the longer avenue is Maldonado.

I hope that you can understand my example.

Greetings.

[pjt33]

En general, si el verbo principal está en el presente y hay una cláusula vinculada por la palabra "since", significa "puesto que".

Por ejemplo, "I may as well go home, since it's raining" - "Vuelvo a casa, puesto que llueve".

[CrOtALiTo]

I didn't know that Since means Puesto que.
Only I knew that since means desde.

I hope that you can clear mi doubt.