GermanFluent

A1 · Time and place prepositions

vor zwei Jahren

ago, with a length of time

Formvor + Zeitangabe (Dativ) + Verb im Perfekt oder Präteritum

Meaning and usage

Use vor with a length of time to say how long ago something happened: vor zwei Jahren, vor drei Tagen, vor zehn Minuten. The verb usually stands in the past, either the Perfekt or the Präteritum. The time phrase can come first or later in the sentence.

The noun after vor takes the dative: vor einem Jahr, vor drei Monaten. Do not confuse this with vor plus a clock time, which means before, as in vor acht Uhr.

Examples 5

Test yourself

  1. 1 Sprachbausteine

    Ich habe ihn gesehen.

    Show answer

    Correct answer: vor zwei Wochen

    vor zwei Wochen means two weeks ago, which fits the past tense habe gesehen. The other phrases do not express how long ago something happened.

    • für zwei Wochen means for two weeks, and it describes a planned length of time, not a point in the past.
    • seit zwei Wochen means for two weeks, and it describes a situation that started in the past and continues.
    • in zwei Wochen means in two weeks, looking forward to the future.

In this topic: Time and place prepositions

  1. am Montag, am Abend on Monday, in the evening
  2. im Januar, im Sommer in a month or season
  3. um acht Uhr at + clock time
  4. von … bis from one time or place to another
  5. nächste Woche, jeden Tag next week, every day: no preposition, accusative
  6. vor zwei Jahren ago, with a length of time
  7. Ich komme aus … saying where someone or something comes from
  8. nach Berlin, zum Arzt, in die Schule to a town, to a person, into a place
  9. zu Hause, nach Hause at home vs. going home
  10. bei at someone's home, at a company, near a place
  11. zum, zur, ins, beim, vom zum, zur, ins, beim, vom: preposition and article as one

Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.