ago

The word "ago" is an adverb that is used with the past tense. When we say something happened a time ago, the comparison is between now and that past time. The word "ago" often appears at the end of a sentence or a clause but not always.

• She was born 42 years ago in Egypt.
• He moved to New York ten years ago.
• The accident happened a few weeks ago.
• Five years ago, Marta and Jose moved to Chicago.
• Over 30 years ago I began my career as a teacher.
• Rome was a powerful city state two thousand years ago.
• Planet Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago.
• That was a long time ago.

I operated a conference bike business

in Minneapolis over ten years ago.

To indicate a relatively long passage of time, make a plural of a unit of time, such as days, weeks, years, and then use the word "ago."

• The plane left hours ago.
• He turned in his assignment days ago.
• They moved away months ago.
• The last time I saw her was years ago.
• That was weeks ago.
• That was ages ago. (ages = a long time)
• That happened some years ago. (some years = three to ten years–very indefinite)

When forming questions, the word "ago" can go at the end of the question or after the words "how long."

• Where did you live five years ago?
• How long ago did you live in China?
• What were you doing twenty years ago?
• How long ago were you a student?
• How long ago did you attend school?
• How many years ago did they get married?
• How many years ago did you start learning English?

This video provides additional instruction for the word "ago."

Click here for more English vocabulary.

September 1, 2019