2

Suppose I need to refer something in the past by saying

Oh, I remember you did that ___.

I remember the event in the past, however I don't remember at what time was that event happening. It could be 10 days ago, 2 months ago, or it happened last year.

Note that I remember well the event on the spot but not the time. What should I say to fill the blank in the highlighted sentence above? I don't think I'm going to use a few days ago, because it could be a few months ago.

In my country, literally we say "a few times ago" to describe indefinite time. I've looked up, but seems like there's no such thing as that phrase in English (I'm not sure if I missed something). I also think that long time ago is a bit too much and will sound like I remember something that happened many many years ago like telling a history.

Improve this question
4
  • 4
    There are many possibilities - You've done that before, you did that a while ago, some time ago...
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 15:55
  • 1
    "a few times ago" in English would be: ages ago. "ages ago" is indefinite.
    – Lambie
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 16:38
  • 4
    One aspect of English usage in this area that might be confusing for learners is that in OP's context it's perfectly natural to say Oh, I remember you once did that (or ...did that once - as usual, adverb position is flexible). But once in such contexts doesn't necessarily (or even normally) imply on a single occasion - often it just implies long ago (as in children's stories that start with Once upon a time...). Also note that You used to do that is another form of words implying ...quite some time ago.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 16:38
  • 1
    "a while ago" is the most common by my knowledge
    – Eli Harold
    Commented Mar 2, 2022 at 17:04

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

If I were you, I would probably use "a while ago", which can cover any distance of time.

Improve this answer
3

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .