ago
/əˈɡəʊ/adverb
उच्चारण अगो
पहले (समय)
Core word
- 1
used in expressions of time to show how far back in the past something happened
पहले (समय)
- two years ago
- long ago
- Radhika moved to Delhi five years ago.
+ 2 more examples
- How long ago did the train leave?
- The shop closed a few minutes ago, so we will come back tomorrow.
Synonyms back before since earlier
Opposite from now later
§Structures (grammar patterns) 5
time + ago
Ago follows the time expression and counts backwards from now: two days ago, a long time ago.
'Ago' समय-सूचक शब्द के बाद आता है और अभी से पीछे की गिनती करता है: two days ago, a long time ago।
- Radhika joined the college three years ago.
- The shop opened a month ago.
ago + simple past
Ago is used with the past simple, not with the present perfect.
'Ago' के साथ past simple आता है, present perfect नहीं।
- I met him ten minutes ago.
- The train left an hour ago.
how long ago
To ask when something happened, use how long ago, followed by the past simple.
कोई घटना कब हुई, यह पूछने के लिए 'how long ago' के बाद past simple आता है।
- How long ago did you start preparing for the exam?
ago vs before
Ago counts from the present; before counts from another moment in the past, so use it in reported speech.
'Ago' वर्तमान से गिनता है; 'before' अतीत के किसी अन्य क्षण से गिनता है, इसलिए reported speech में उसका प्रयोग होता है।
- He said that he had left the village two years before.
ago + since (contrast)
Ago gives the length of time back from now; since gives the starting point. Do not mix them.
'Ago' अभी से पीछे की अवधि बताता है; 'since' प्रारंभ-बिंदु बताता है। दोनों को न मिलाएँ।
- He left ten days ago, that is, since the first of the month.
+Collocations 4
number + time + ago
two daysa weekten yearsa few minutesa century
- The temple was built a thousand years ago.
long ago
long agonot long agovery long agoso long ago
- Not long ago, this road was a mud track.
adverb + ago
justonlyshortlybarely
- The bus left just a minute ago.
ago + time word
yearsmonthsweeksdayshours
- We moved to this city five years ago.
“More examples 7
- My grandfather came to Delhi sixty years ago.
मेरे दादाजी साठ वर्ष पहले दिल्ली आए थे।
- Long ago, there lived a king in this land.
बहुत पहले इस देश में एक राजा रहता था।
- I saw Radhika at the library a few minutes ago.
मैंने कुछ मिनट पहले राधिका को पुस्तकालय में देखा।
- How long ago did the match begin?
मैच को शुरू हुए कितना समय हुआ?
- The monsoon ended only a week ago.
मानसून को समाप्त हुए केवल एक सप्ताह हुआ है।
- The result was declared two hours ago.
परिणाम दो घंटे पहले घोषित हो गया था।
- It seems like only yesterday, but it was ten years ago.
ऐसा लगता है कल की ही बात है, पर यह दस वर्ष पहले की बात है।
!Common mistakes 2
✗ I have met him two years ago.
✓ I met him two years ago.
Ago needs the past simple, not the present perfect.
'Ago' के साथ past simple चाहिए, present perfect नहीं।
✗ I saw him a year before.
✓ I saw him a year ago.
For a time counted back from now, use ago, not before.
अभी से पीछे गिने गए समय के लिए 'ago' आता है, 'before' नहीं।
?Which word?
Keep apart ago (back from now) and before (back from a past time: 'He had left two days before').
Ago (अब से पहले) और before (अतीत के किसी समय से पहले: 'He had left two days before') को अलग रखिए।
§Grammar and usage
Ago is used with the simple past ('I met her two days ago'), not the present perfect ('I have met her two days ago' is wrong); ago comes after the time phrase; 'It is two years since' (not 'ago since').
यह बहुत पूछा जाता है: ago simple past के साथ आता है ('I met her two days ago'), present perfect के साथ नहीं ('I have met her two days ago' गलत है); ago समय-वाक्यांश के बाद आता है; 'It is two years since' ('ago since' नहीं)।