seit or vor?
a2Both point into the past but measure different things: seit gives a stretch of time that reaches up to now, vor a single point that is over. Both take the dative.
seit
A stretch of time that is still running. The verb stays in the present, even though English uses a perfect here.
Ich lerne seit zwei Jahren Deutsch.I've been learning German for two years.
vor
A finished point in time, counted back from today. The verb stands in a past tense.
Vor zwei Jahren war ich in Wien.Two years ago I was in Vienna.
The mistake
Ich wohne vor drei Jahren in Köln.
Ich wohne seit drei Jahren in Köln.
Someone still living there means a stretch of time up to now, and that is „seit“. „vor drei Jahren“ would be a single point at which something happened.
Rule of thumb
„seit“ pulls the present tense along, „vor“ the past. And beware: English „for three years“ is not „für drei Jahre“ but „seit drei Jahren“.
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