Beginner Level Since vs For, By vs Until, During vs While Quiz

This tests the core SINCE rule — "2019" is a specific starting point in time, not a span, so it pairs with since in a perfect-tense sentence.

Correct sentence: "She has been working here since 2019."

Memory hook: if you can replace the word with "from the moment of," the answer is since.

"Two hours" describes a duration, a span of time, rather than a fixed starting point, so it needs for, not since.

Correct sentence: "She has been waiting for two hours."

Memory hook: if you can replace the word with "a span of," the answer is for.

"Submit" is a one-time action with a deadline — it must be completed no later than Friday, not continued up until Friday — so by is correct.

Correct sentence: "Submit the form by Friday."

Memory hook: by = deadline, a finish line; you complete the action before it, you don't keep doing it.

"Wait" is a continuous action, and the sentence describes that waiting continuing right up to Friday, which is exactly what until signals.

Correct sentence: "I will wait until Friday."

Memory hook: until = continuity, an ongoing action that keeps going up to a point in time.

"The lecture" is a noun, and during is a preposition that must be followed by a noun, not a clause.

Correct sentence: "She slept during the lecture."

Memory hook: during + noun — ask "during what?" and the answer should be a single noun or noun phrase.

"The lecturer was speaking" is a clause with its own subject and verb, and while is a conjunction that must be followed by a clause, not a single noun.

Correct sentence: "She slept while the lecturer was speaking."

Memory hook: while + subject + verb — if you see a mini-sentence after the blank, it's while.

"Last Monday" names a specific starting point, not a duration, so the sentence needs since, not for.

Correct sentence: "He has been ill since last Monday."

Memory hook: a named day or date after the blank almost always signals since, not for.

This describes a deadline — she'll be gone before 5 pm arrives — which is the defining function of by, not the continuous action implied by until.

Correct sentence: "She will have left by 5 pm."

Memory hook: "will have left" already signals completion before a point — pair completion verbs with by.

"Worked...and then went home" shows the working continued right up to 5 pm before stopping, which is the continuity pattern that until describes.

Correct sentence: "She worked until 5 pm and then went home."

Memory hook: if the action keeps happening and then stops at a point, that point takes until, not by.

"Ten years" is a length of time, a duration, rather than a fixed point on the calendar, so for is the correct choice here, not since.

Correct sentence: "He has lived in this city for ten years."

Memory hook: any plain number of years/months/days without a specific date attached is a duration — pair it with for.