For A Long Time vs. In A Long Time

For A Long Time vs. In A Long Time

by Enguroo

Consider these two sentences:

  1. I haven’t done this for a long time.
  2. I haven’t done this in a long time.

Do they mean exactly the same thing, or is there a difference in meaning?

Keep reading to find out. By the end of this article, you’ll understand when in a long time is more appropriate than for a long time, and vice versa.

As always, we’ve included exercises, so be sure to test your understanding when you’re ready.

“I haven’t played tennis in a long time, even though I played it for a long time when I was younger…”

For vs. In

Both for and in are prepositions that can be used in expressions related to time, but they serve different purposes.

For is used to express duration (= the length of an action or state). It answers the question “How long?”

  • I slept for six hours last night.
  • I’ve lived in this town for ten years, and I love it.
  • I studied German for a long time when I was young, but sadly I’ve forgotten most of it.

So, for a long time = for a long duration:

A: How long did you talk?

B: For a long time – maybe an hour.

In, on the other hand, does not express duration in the phrase in a long time. Instead, it refers to a period of time (= a span of time stretching from the past up to the present).

  • I haven’t seen her in a long time.

This means I haven’t seen her within this period of time, or more naturally, I haven’t seen her recently.

❗The focus is not on how long the action lasted. Instead, it’s on whether the action happened at any point during that period of time. Note that in a long time is most commonly used in negative sentences and questions:

  • Have you been there in a long time? (= Have you been there recently?)
  • Nobody has called me in a long time. (= Nobody has called me recently.)
  • I haven’t eaten sushi in a long time. (= I haven’t eaten sushi recently.)

A Visual Way to Think About It

For measures the action itself:

Studying
████████████
<—- for a long time —->

For example: I studied German for a long time (e.g. 10 years).

In measures the time period around the action:

Past —————————- Now
<—— in a long time ———->
✘ no studying

For example: I haven’t studied German in a long time, so I’m totally out of practice. (I studied German for ten years in the past, but I haven’t studied it at all recently, so I’ve lost much of my ability.)

In & For With Years, Months, etc.

Compare these two sentences:

  1. I haven’t seen him in years.
  2. I haven’t seen him for years.

Interestingly, this last sentence isn’t wrong – it’s very common! (Isn’t English tricky? 🤨)

❗Expressions like for years/moths/weeks are perfectly natural because for + a specific period is well established after negatives. But with the idiom a long time, English overwhelmingly prefers: I haven’t seen him in a long time.

🇺🇸 🇬🇧 I haven’t seen him for a long time is grammatical but noticeably less idiomatic in many varieties of English, especially American English. In British English, it’s somewhat more common.

Bottom Line

In a long time = not recently (a common conversational expression)

For a long time: expresses duration

Now, let’s return to the two sentences from the beginning of the article:

  1. I haven’t done this for a long time.
  2. I haven’t done this in a long time.

Both sentences are grammatical, but they carry slightly different nuances.

I haven’t done this in a long time = I haven’t done this recently.

This is the most natural choice in most contexts.

I haven’t done this for a long time 

This phrasing is less common and may sound less natural when the intended meaning is simply “I haven’t done this recently.”

Practice

Exercise 1. Complete the text with in and for.

Last weekend, I decided to go hiking for the first time in years. I hadn’t been on a hiking trail ___ (1) a long time, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I arrived at the park, I met an older couple who told me they had been hiking there ___ (2) a long time – more than 20 years, in fact.

We started talking, and before I knew it, we had been chatting ___ (3) a long time. They shared stories about the mountains, the wildlife, and all the changes they had seen over the years. One of them smiled and said, “We haven’t met anyone this interested ___ (4) a long time.”

By the end of the day, I realized how much I had missed spending time outdoors. I hadn’t enjoyed myself that much ___ (5) a long time, and I promised myself I wouldn’t wait so long before going hiking again.

Answer Key 🔑
  1. in
  2. for
  3. for
  4. in
  5. in

Exercise 2. Fill in the blanks for for or in.

  1. I haven’t played the piano ___ a long time, so my fingers feel rusty.
  2. Sarah lived in Italy ___ 5 years before moving back home.
  3. We haven’t seen each other ___ ages. We should meet up soon.
  4. Mike studied French ___ a long time when he was at university, but he rarely uses it now.
  5. I haven’t been to that restaurant ___ a long time. Is it still good?
  6. They talked ___ 3 hours about their travel plans.
  7. I haven’t watched a movie at the cinema ___ months.
  8. My grandfather worked at the same company ___ 40 years before he retired.
  9. I haven’t practiced speaking English ___ a long time, so I need to get used to it again.
  10. She has been learning Spanish ___ a long time, and she is now fluent.
Answer Key 🔑
  1. in
  2. for
  3. for/in (in ages = in a very long time (for negative sentences only); for ages works with positive and negative sentences; it’s more common in British English; ❗note that both in ages and for ages are well established idioms and here their means overlap)
  4. for
  5. in
  6. for
  7. in/for (for is especially common in British English)
  8. for
  9. in
  10. for

We know this topic is as interesting as it is tricky. What makes it even more confusing is that there is some regional variation involved. Still, we hope we have shed some light on the nuances and helped clarify the differences.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments below. Let’s get to the bottom of this together.

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