“Since Monday” names a starting point. “For three days” names a duration. Choosing between them is only one part of the decision: you also need to know whether the period continues up to now or belongs to a finished part of the past.
The present perfect chapters in Jobin Thomas’s Master English Grammar for OET Nursing with Confidence explain how verb forms connect earlier events with the present. This guide uses original administrative and study examples to practise that time relationship.
Separate a starting point from a duration
Use “since” to identify when a period began: since Monday, since the last meeting, since 2024. Use “for” to describe how long it lasts: for two hours, for several weeks, for a year.
Compare “I have been waiting since nine o’clock” with “I have been waiting for two hours.” Both can describe the same situation if it is now eleven, but one gives the start and the other gives the length.
Check whether the period reaches the present
Original time-frame comparison
Continuing now: “The office has been using the new booking system for three months.”
Finished period: “The office used the temporary system for three months last year.”
Both sentences contain “for three months.” The wider time frame determines the verb choice; “for” does not automatically require the present perfect.
Look at the full context before applying a rule from one keyword. A duration can describe a completed period, an ongoing period or even a future arrangement. The sentence needs to express the period you actually mean.
Distinguish a result from an activity
“The team has checked twenty forms” focuses on a completed quantity. “The team has been checking forms all morning” focuses on the activity over time. Both connect the past with the present, but they answer different questions.
Use the simple form when the result is your intended focus and the continuous form when the activity or duration is central. Some verbs and meanings do not normally take a continuous form: “I have known the address for years” is natural; “I have been knowing…” is not.
Choose the wording and explain the time frame
1. The learner has been attending evening classes ___ January. (since/for)
2. The temporary office operated ___ six weeks last summer. (since/for)
3. The learner ___ three assignments so far. (has completed/has been completing)
Answers: 1 since — January is the starting point. 2 for — six weeks is a duration in a finished past period. 3 has completed — the sentence counts completed assignments.
Do not infer more than the tense establishes
A past-tense statement tells you about a past time. On its own, it does not provide a complete update on the present. If notes describe an earlier situation, do not invent a current outcome simply because the original sentence uses the past tense.
In course writing tasks, preserve the supplied timeline and any explicit update. If the current status is unclear, grammatical confidence should not become factual certainty.
Build a short time-frame check into revision
Underline every “since” and “for” phrase in a paragraph. Mark each as a start point or duration, then identify the relevant period. Finally, check that the verb matches the intended relationship to the present.
Practise rewriting one example for a finished past period and another for a period continuing now. Explain what changed in the situation as well as in the grammar.
Explore OET Grammar — Course 11 for the course connected to this nursing workbook. For individual OET support, request one-to-one dates and times around your duty shifts; your tutor confirms the agreed schedule.
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OET Grammar — Course 11
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Source: OET GRA NUR 01.epub, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.