منذ (mundhu) locates a situation by looking backward from now, or from another reference time, to an earlier boundary. English divides that job between since before a starting point and for before a duration. Arabic normally keeps منذ in both constructions, so the kind of time expression—not a different preposition—tells you which English translation fits.
مذ (mudh) belongs to the same grammatical family, but it is much less common in contemporary prose. You will meet it in elevated journalism, literary narration, and deliberate formal style. In ordinary Modern Standard Arabic, choose منذ unless there is a reason to create that compressed literary tone.
One timeline, two ways of measuring it
The prototype is temporal, not spatial. منذ points to the left boundary of a time span that reaches the reference point. The complement may name either the point where the span began or the amount of time contained in the span.
| Complement after منذ | Arabic interpretation | Natural English |
|---|---|---|
| عام ٢٠٢١ | a named starting point | since 2021 |
| يوم الاثنين | a named starting point | since Monday |
| ستة أشهر | elapsed duration measured backward | for six months |
| وقت طويل | an indefinite elapsed duration | for a long time |
أقيم في الرباط منذ عام ٢٠٢١.
ʾuqīmu fī r-ribāṭi mundhu ʿāmi 2021.
I have lived in Rabat since 2021.
تعمل ليلى في المختبر منذ ستة أشهر.
taʿmalu laylā fī l-mukhtabari mundhu sittati ʾashhur.
Layla has worked in the laboratory for six months.
The Arabic structure is the same in both examples. عام ٢٠٢١ names a point, while ستة أشهر measures a duration. English speakers often try to insert a separate equivalent of for before the duration; Arabic needs no such extra word. The ordinary source preposition من has a different job, explained on من — from, of, and than.
لم تهطل الأمطار في هذه المنطقة منذ ثلاثة أسابيع.
lam tahṭili l-ʾamṭāru fī hādhihi l-minṭaqati mundhu thalāthati ʾasābīʿ.
It has not rained in this area for three weeks.
لم نلتق منذ وقت طويل، فلنحدد موعدا هذا الأسبوع.
lam naltaqi mundhu waqtin ṭawīlin, fal-nuḥaddid mawʿidan hādhā l-ʾusbūʿ.
We have not met for a long time, so let us set a date this week.
The situation usually extends to the reference time
With a present-tense state or an English present perfect, منذ normally presents the situation as continuing up to now. Arabic does not need a special “have been” tense: context plus the temporal phrase supplies that interpretation.
نعرف هذه العائلة منذ أيام الجامعة.
naʿrifu hādhihi l-ʿāʾilata mundhu ʾayyāmi l-jāmiʿa.
We have known this family since our university days.
المكتبة مغلقة منذ بداية أعمال الترميم.
al-maktabatu mughlaqatun mundhu bidāyati ʾaʿmāli t-tarmīm.
The library has been closed since the renovation work began.
With a completed event, however, منذ + duration can be understood as “that long ago,” especially in headlines or compressed narrative. Because that reading can compete with the continuing-span reading, قبل أسبوع “a week ago” is clearer when you mean only the date of a completed event.
زار الخبير الموقع قبل أسبوع، ولم يعد إليه منذ ذلك اليوم.
zāra l-khabīru l-mawqiʿa qabla ʾusbūʿin, wa-lam yaʿud ʾilayhi mundhu dhālika l-yawm.
The expert visited the site a week ago and has not returned to it since that day.
This contrast is useful: قبل أسبوع dates the visit; منذ ذلك اليوم opens a span from the visit to the present.
Noun phrases and clauses
Most complements are time-denoting noun phrases. In the ordinary prepositional analysis, منذ governs the genitive: منذ بدايةِ الشهرِ and منذ يومِ الاثنينِ. An internal iḍāfa keeps extending the genitive chain: منذ بدايةِ أعمالِ الترميمِ “since the beginning of the renovation work.”
تجري المراجعة منذ بداية الشهر لا منذ منتصفه.
tajrī l-murājaʿatu mundhu bidāyati sh-shahri lā mundhu muntaṣafih.
The review has been under way since the start of the month, not since its middle. (The two complements are genitive.)
A clause can identify the starting event. Formal contemporary prose readily uses منذ أن + past verb, and it also permits منذ + clause without أن when the boundary is clear.
تحسن سير العمل منذ أن طبقت الإدارة النظام الجديد.
taḥassana sayru l-ʿamali mundhu ʾan ṭabbaqati l-ʾidāratu n-niẓāma l-jadīd.
Workflow has improved since the administration implemented the new system.
لم ينقطع التيار منذ وصلنا إلى القرية.
lam yanqaṭiʿi t-tayyāru mundhu waṣalnā ʾilā l-qarya.
The electricity has not gone out since we arrived in the village.
Traditional grammar gives مذ and منذ additional nominal analyses when a following time expression is nominative, as in older patterns equivalent to “two days have elapsed.” Those analyses matter when parsing Classical or literary texts, but they are not a productive case choice for an A2 learner. In contemporary formal output, use the transparent prepositional pattern with a genitive noun, or use a clause. Do not alternate nominative and genitive merely for style.
مذ: recognizable, but marked
مذ is not a casual short form that can replace منذ everywhere. It is a compact (literary/formal) alternative, especially after a negative or durative statement. Modern readers understand it, but repeated use can make ordinary prose sound deliberately old-fashioned.
ما تغير هذا الإجراء مذ صدر القرار الأصلي.
mā taghayyara hādhā l-ʾijrāʾu mudh ṣadara l-qarāru l-ʾaṣliyy.
This procedure has not changed since the original decision was issued. (Literary/formal.)
ظل الميناء هادئا مذ غادرت آخر سفينة.
ẓalla l-mīnāʾu hādiʾan mudh ghādarat ʾākhiru safīna.
The harbor has remained quiet since the last ship left. (Literary narration.)
In a report, email, or news explanation, منذ would normally be the unmarked choice in both sentences.
No attached pronoun suffixes
Unlike فيه “in it” or منها “from it,” منذ and مذ normally govern an overt time expression, not a pronoun suffix. Forms such as منذه and مذها are not standard productive MSA. This restriction makes semantic sense: the complement must identify a time boundary, not simply a person or thing.
Use an overt phrase instead:
- منذ ذلك الحين “since then”
- منذ ذلك اليوم “since that day”
- منذ غيابه “since his absence / since he left”
- منذ وصولها “since her arrival”
منذ ذلك الحين، تنشر الهيئة تقريرا سنويا عن جودة المياه.
mundhu dhālika l-ḥīni, tanshuru l-hayʾatu taqrīran sanawiyyan ʿan jawdati l-miyāh.
Since then, the authority has published an annual report on water quality. (Formal institutional collocation.)
يتولى نائبه إدارة القسم منذ غيابه.
yatawallā nāʾibuhu ʾidārata l-qismi mundhu ghiyābih.
His deputy has managed the department since his absence.
The ـه in غيابه belongs to the noun غياب, not to منذ. That distinction preserves both correct spelling and correct syntax.
منذ, من, and لمدة
من marks a starting boundary particularly well when an endpoint is also stated: من الاثنين إلى الخميس “from Monday to Thursday.” منذ instead views the interval backward from the reference point. لمدة presents a bounded amount and does not by itself say that the situation continues now.
يفتح المركز من الاثنين إلى الخميس، وقد عمل بهذا الجدول منذ يناير.
yaftaḥu l-markazu mina l-ithnayni ʾilā l-khamīsi, wa-qad ʿamila bihādhā l-jadwali mundhu yanāyir.
The center opens Monday through Thursday and has followed this schedule since January.
استأجرنا القاعة لمدة يومين، ونحن نخطط للمؤتمر منذ أشهر.
istaʾjarnā l-qāʿata limuddati yawmayni, wa-naḥnu nukhaṭṭiṭu lil-muʾtamari mundhu ʾashhur.
We rented the hall for two days, and we have been planning the conference for months.
English uses for in both halves, but Arabic distinguishes a bounded booking (لمدة) from an activity extending backward to now (منذ).
Common Mistakes
Copying English “for” with لـ
❌ أعمل هنا لخمسة أعوام.
Incorrect for the intended continuing meaning—لخمسة أعوام tends to describe a planned or bounded five-year period, not ‘for the last five years.’
✅ أعمل هنا منذ خمسة أعوام.
ʾaʿmalu hunā mundhu khamsati ʾaʿwām.
I have worked here for five years.
Using منذ for a simple source in space
❌ وصلت الحافلة منذ المطار.
Incorrect—منذ is temporal, not the ordinary spatial ‘from.’
✅ وصلت الحافلة من المطار منذ نصف ساعة.
waṣalati l-ḥāfilatu mina l-maṭāri mundhu niṣfi sāʿa.
The bus arrived from the airport half an hour ago.
Attaching a pronoun directly
❌ لم نسمع أخبارا منذه.
Incorrect—منذ does not productively take an attached pronoun suffix.
✅ لم نسمع أخبارا عنه منذ سفره.
lam nasmaʿ ʾakhbāran ʿanhu mundhu safarih.
We have not heard any news about him since he traveled.
Key Takeaways
- منذ + point corresponds to English since; منذ + duration often corresponds to English for.
- A clause may follow, especially منذ أن + past verb.
- In productive contemporary use, treat منذ as governing a genitive time expression; reserve competing traditional analyses for reading advanced texts.
- مذ is a compressed literary/formal alternative, not the neutral everyday default.
- Neither word normally takes an attached pronoun suffix; use منذ ذلك الحين or a time noun such as منذ غيابه.
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- من — from, of, and thanA1 — Use من for sources, separation, partitives, causes, and comparison while mastering connected pronunciation and pronoun forms.
- في — in, at, and withinA1 — Use في for containment, settings, time frames, abstract domains, governed complements, and attached pronouns.
- كـ — like and asA2 — Use the attached preposition كـ for similarity and role while distinguishing مثل، كما, and clearer capacity expressions.
- Compound Prepositional PhrasesB1 — Use multiword relations such as بالنسبة إلى، من أجل، بسبب، and على الرغم من with their exact spelling and internal government.
- Perfect Aspect and Completed EventsA2 — Use the Arabic perfect for bounded events, current results, narrative sequences, and foregrounded developments.