back (in a time period)
Use "back" to talk about a time period in the past:
Back in the '80s, there was graffiti all over the place in the city.
Back when I was in school, teachers would spank you with a paddlie if you misbehaved.
The time period is usually more than a year ago. It would be strange to use this to talk about something that happened yesterday or last week.
Adding this word makes the time period seem like it was a long time ago.
This phrase appears in these lessons:
- “What do you think people did back before they had electricity or running water?”
- “Back when I was in school, teachers would spank you with a paddle if you misbehaved.”
- “Back in the '80s, there was graffiti all over the place in the city.”
- “Back before social media became big, it was easy to lose touch with people.”
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