Before doing this activity you may need to read the text you will find at the end
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| Gapped text | Items |
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| She had been looking for him ______________________ the day before, but she didn't find him until she put that message on the radio. | for / since / from |
| When you arrived, she had been crying ______________________ hours | since / from / for |
| It's been raining ______________________ weeks | since / for / from |
| The shops are open ______________________ 9 to 3 | -- / since / for / from |
| Mike will come to live here ______________________ next Saturday | from / since / for |
| I haven't seen you ______________________ years! | since / from / for |
| Wait ______________________ a minute, I'll be right back. | since / from / -- |
| This school will be closed ______________________ June 28th. Then we will open again in September. | since / from / for |
| This shop has been open ______________________ last May | -- / for / since |
| I was at home ______________________ 5 to 7, then went away until 10 | for / since / from |
| We have lived here ______________________ 2005 | -- / for / since |
| I haven't seen you ______________________ last Christmas. Where have you been? | for / from / since |
| I have known her only ______________________ three days | from / since / for |
| This car has been having problems ______________________ we bought it | from / since / for |
| You will have your own office ______________________ next month | from / since / for |
| It's been raining ______________________ 3 o'clock | since / -- / for |
| I've known her ______________________ my birthday | since / for / -- |
| This car has been having problems ______________________ a few months, it's time to buy a new one. | since / for / from |
| The bridge had been closed ______________________ one hour, but when we arrived there it was open. | for / since / from |
| This shop has been open ______________________ two years now | for / since / from |
FOR + period 
expresses duration (HOW LONG?)
SINCE + starting point says when the action began (SINCE WHEN?)
1- I've known her for three days (for how long? for three days)
2- I've known her since last summer (since when? since last summer)
Compare:
- Now it's April, so I've been living here for three months
- Now it's April, so I've been living here since February
We can use FOR with any tense, but when we express duration from the past up to the present (past and present action) we use FOR with a present perfect, not a present tense. FOR with a present tense expresses duration from the present up to the future.
- Mike is here for two weeks (= He will be here for two more weeks starting today)
- We'll go to Rome for three days
- I've lived here for three years (not: I live here for three years)
- She's been studying for five hours, tell her to have a break
In informal conversation we often leave out FOR
- I've been waiting for you (for) two hours!
- She has worked only (for) three hours today SINCE is usually used with present perfect but it can also be used with any past tense depending on the situation. It expresses that the action began at that moment and continued up to the present (or the past time we are talking about):
- We have been married since 1998 (since 1998 until now)
- They bought the car last month. They had been comparing prices since Tom's birthday. (since Tom's birthday until they bought the car)
- I've been waiting for you since 7 o'clock! (since 7 until now)
- Josh worked there since last summer, but now he works here with us (since last summer until he came to work with us)
For other situations (present or future) we prefer FROM
- The shops will be open from 8 o'clock in the morning
- I work from 8 to 4
- Our new company will start operating from September 10th
