for months now

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "for months now" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use this phrase to indicate that an event has been happening for a certain length of time. For example, you could say "I've been learning French for months now."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

I've been doing interviews for months now.

The Guardian - Music

I've been planning this for months now".

The Guardian - Tech

But for months now, the Libor has been creeping upward.

The New York Times

Random clowns have been popping up for months now.

The Washington Post

For months now, Molenbeek has been under intense scrutiny.

The Guardian

"And we've been in a dead heat for months now".

The New York Times

For months now, Ruth had been inert, almost unwakeable.

The New Yorker

Names have been bubbling up for months now.

The Guardian - Opinion

This has been Ossoff's pitch for months now.

The New Yorker

Locals have been pulling apart the stones for months now.

The New York Times

For months now, they had felt confident that the court would strike down Proposition 8.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "for months now" to indicate an ongoing situation or trend that started several months ago and continues to the present. This phrase emphasizes the duration and recency of the event.

Common error

Avoid using "for months now" with past simple tense verbs. This phrase implies an ongoing action, so use present perfect or present perfect continuous tenses instead. For example, use "I have been working on this project for months now" instead of "I worked on this project for months now".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "for months now" functions as an adverbial phrase of time, modifying a verb or clause to indicate the duration of an action or state. Ludwig shows its use in various sentences to specify how long something has been happening.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

95%

Formal & Business

2%

Science

1%

Less common in

Academia

1%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the adverbial phrase "for months now" is a grammatically sound and very common way to indicate that something has been happening continuously over a significant period leading up to the present. Ludwig AI confirms its correct usage in written English. It is mostly found in news and media sources and functions to provide temporal context. When using this phrase, ensure that the verb tense is appropriate to reflect an ongoing or recently completed action. Consider related phrases like "for several months" or "in recent months" for nuanced variations.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

for several months

Replaces "months" with "several months", offering a slightly more specific but similar timeframe.

over the past few months

Emphasizes a period extending from the past to the present.

in the last few months

Similar to "over the past few months", emphasizing a recent timeframe.

in recent months

Focuses on the recency of the period, rather than the duration itself.

these past months

Highlights the period emphasizing the passing of time.

for a few months running

Highlights the continuous nature of the activity over the months.

during the preceding months

More formal and emphasizes the months leading up to a specific point.

for the better part of the last few months

Highlights that most of the period has been affected.

since a few months ago

Frames the time period as starting from a point in the past and continuing to now.

in recent memory

Indicates the period is within a range of time that is easily remembered.

FAQs

How can I use "for months now" in a sentence?

Use "for months now" to describe something that has been happening continuously over the past few months and is still ongoing. For example, "The company's stock price has been declining "for months now"".

What are some alternatives to saying "for months now"?

You can use phrases like "for several months", "in recent months", or "over the past few months" depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is it correct to use "for months now" at the beginning of a sentence?

While less common, it's grammatically acceptable to start a sentence with "For months now". However, it's often stylistically better to place it later in the sentence for smoother reading. For example, instead of "For months now, I've been feeling tired", try "I've been feeling tired "for months now"".

Can I use "for months now" to describe something that happened repeatedly, but not continuously?

While "for months now" typically implies a continuous action or state, it can also describe something that has occurred repeatedly over a period of months. The context should make it clear whether the action is continuous or recurring. For example, "He's been traveling back and forth between New York and San Francisco "for months now"" suggests repeated trips.