Correct word: [back or ago]

Question

I have made up the examples below.(1) (Suppose that you go to the library periodically.) You said to a librarian, "I am told that I have to pay for the book that you think I lost. I am sure that two visits ago/back, I returned it."(2) (Suppose that you make donations to an organization periodically.) Two payments ago/back, I didn't transfer much money to your bank account because I had to deal with a financial matter.Which word is correct: ago or back? Thank you.

Moonrise · Accepted Answer

ansonguyI am told that I have to pay for the book that you think I lost. I am sure that two visits ago/back, I returned it."

The sentence is not good in my opinion, but I'm not sure I could construct it well either. There are teachers to correct it anyway.

Regarding the first sentence, just because he thinks you lost the book, you will have to pay for it. His thinking is not a clue. The question is did you really lose the book? If you did, you did. If you didn't, you didn't. You do know. Moreover, you said that you were sure you had returned it. So in this case, I'd say:

"I am told that I have to pay for the book that you think I didn't return."

In fact, I don't like the verb "think" in that context, I'd say "say" or "claim". "claim" is accurate, but "say" is softer.

"I am told that I have to pay for the book that you say I didn't return."

"I am told that I have to pay for the book that you say I didn't give back."

Regarding the second sentence, "two visits ago" is not familiar to me. I'm not saying it's wrong. I really don't know. Usually "ago" comes after the following words:

Two years ago, two months ago, two days ago, two weeks ago, two hours ago, two minutes ago, a while ago.

Besides that, if I think about it, "two visits ago" might not be good for usage, because it wouldn't provide others with an accurate time. It's much better to specify the time. In this case, I'd say:

"I am sure that two months ago, I returned it."

(I used "two months" as just an example, you need to change it to the correct time, of course")

Correct word: [back or ago]

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