ago

The word “ago” means used after a period of time to mean "before now.". In plain terms, marks how far back in time something happened, always placed after the amount of time.

“Ago” is pronounced uh-GOH (/əˈɡoʊ/ in IPA).

Here is “ago” used in a sentence: “We met three years ago.”

“Ago” is an adverb.

The word “ago” comes from Old English. From Middle English ago, agon, "passed," ultimately from Old English agan, "to pass away, go forth" — related to "gone.".

“Ago” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

"Ago" measures back from now, the present moment: "two years ago" means two years before today. "Before" measures back from some other point in the past or future: "two years before" means earlier than whatever moment you are talking about. Use "ago" for the present, "before" for another reference time.

"Ago" follows a length of time and looks back from now: "I arrived three hours ago." "Since" points to the starting moment and looks forward to now: "I have been here since three o'clock." One counts the gap of time; the other names when it began. They often describe the same stretch differently.

Place "ago" after the amount of time, not before it: say "five minutes ago," never "ago five minutes." It pairs with the simple past tense, as in "she called an hour ago," because it fixes an event at a finished point back from the present. It is not used with "since."

"I saw him a moment ago" places the sighting just back from now. "They married fifty years ago" fixes the wedding half a century before today. "Long ago, this was farmland" sets the scene in the distant past. In each, "ago" counts back from the present moment.