The Difference Between “seit” and “vor” in German

The Difference Between “seit” and “vor” in German
The Difference Between “seit” and “vor” in German

.  Seit  vor in German. Seit and vor  are two important temporal prepositions that many students have asked me about. In this post, I’m going to explain the difference between them and give you some examples.

1. seit

This preposition (always with dative case!) expresses that something started in the past and has not finished until the moment of speaking:

Example: Ich lerne seit 5 Jahren Türkisch.(Translation: I have been learning Turkish for 5 years. = Meaning: I started learning Turkish 5 years ago and I continue learning it until today.)

As you can see, in German we use it with Present Tense (while in English they use Present Perfect Continuous. We use Perfect Tense only for things that have already finished, that belong to the past).

Seit can refer to

  1. the time (duration) for which you have been doing something until the moment of speaking. In this case, you translate it by “for”: seit 5 Jahren (for 5 years);
  2. the moment (year, day, hour) when you started doing something (and continue doing it until the moment of speaking). In this case, you translate it by “since”: seit 2014 (since 2014).

More examples:

  • Ich warte schon seit einer Stunde auf dich! (I’ve been waiting for you for an hour [and I am still waiting]!)
  • Seit gestern rauche ich nicht mehr. (Since yesterday I don’t smoke anymore. = I stopped smoking yesterday.)
  • Die Bäckerei ist seit 8:00 Uhr geöffnet. (It is open since 8 am. = It opened at 8 am and is still open.)

On the other hand, if you want to express that you have been doing something for some time in the past (and you stopped doing it), we use no preposition in German:

  • Ich hatte 4 Jahre Französisch an der Schule. (I did/learned french at school for 4 years.)
  • Juan war 2 Wochen in der Slowakei. (He was in Slovakia for 2 weeks.)
  • Helga hat eine Stunde auf ihn gewartet. (She waited/was waiting for him for an hour.)

2. vor

When this two-way preposition is used with a temporal meaning (= when), it takes always dative case. It means that something happened in the past and is no longer happening. The duration is not relevant!

It is translated as “ago”.

Seit oder Vor? | Since, for and ago Explained!

Examples:

  • Wir waren vor 3 Jahren in Frankreich. (We were in France 3 years ago.)
  • Vor 2 Jahren haben wir in Finnland gelebt.(2 years ago we lived/were living in Finnland.)
  • Vor einer Stunde war mein Telefon noch da! (One hour ago my phone was still there!)

3. Exact Years (no duration)

When talking about what happened in a specific year, for example when you were born, we don’t use any preposition in German (you can add im Jahr[e] optionally):

  • Wann bist du geboren? – Ich bin 1980 geboren.
  • (Im Jahr[e]) 2005 hat Angela Merkel zum ersten Mal die Wahlen gewonnen. (She won the elections for the first time in 2005.)

What is Seit  in German?

“Seit” is a German preposition that translates to “since” or “for” in English. It is used to indicate the starting point of an event, action, or state. The primary function of “seit” is to express a duration of time.

Here are a few examples to understand the usage of “seit”:

  • Ich lerne Deutsch seit einem Jahr. (I have been learning German for a year.)
  • Sie arbeitet seit Montag. (She has been working since Monday.)
  • Seit dem Frühstück habe ich Bauchschmerzen. (I have had stomach ache since breakfast.)

these examples, “seit” is used to express the duration of the action. in first sentence, “seit” indicates the length of time for which the person has been learning German. In the second sentence, “seit” is used to express how long the person has been working. In the third sentence, “seit” is used to express when the stomach ache started. Seit  vor in German

What is Vor in German?

“Vor” is a German preposition that can have different meanings depending on the context. Generally, it is used to indicate a point in time before another event or action.

Here are some examples to understand the usage of “vor”:

  • Ich gehe um 7 Uhr aus dem Haus. (I leave the house at 7 am.)
  • Ich stehe um 6 Uhr auf. (I wake up at 6 am.)
  • Ich putze meine Zähne vor dem Frühstück. (I brush my teeth before breakfast.)

“vor” is used to indicate the time before the event or action. in 1st point, “vor” is used to express the time before leaving the house. In 2nd point, “vor” is used to indicate the time before waking up. In the 3rd point, “vor” is used to express the time before having breakfast. Seit  vor in German

Difference Between Seit and Vor:

The main difference between “seit” and “vor” is that “seit” is used to express the duration of an action, while “vor” is used to indicate the time before the action. “Seit” always indicates a duration of time, while “vor” indicates the time before an event or action.

Here are some examples to illustrate the difference between “seit” and “vor”:

Ich lerne Deutsch seit einem Jahr. (I have been learning German for a year.)
Ich habe Deutsch gelernt vor einem Jahr. (I learned German a year ago.)
In the first sentence, “seit” is used to indicate the duration for which the person has been learning German. In the second sentence, “vor” is used to indicate the time before the person learned German.

Understanding the difference between Seit and Vor is crucial for using them correctly in German. To choose the correct preposition, ask yourself whether the period of time is still ongoing or has already ended. If it is still ongoing, use Seit. If it has already ended, use Vor.

We hope this article has been helpful in clarifying the differences between these two prepositions. With practice, you will become more confident in choosing the correct one in different contexts.Seit  vor in German

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