Which way do you answer time questions, if not as asked?

“since xxx”, because I do not want to do maths.

I do both. It depends on what mental marker I have put on the circumstance, and who is asking. For example, if I’m traveling next week, and someone asks, I might say “on the 29th”, if I am talking to the person I will visit I say “see you next week”, if my daughter asks I’ll probably say “I’m going on Tuesday.”

“When did you move here?” will get the answer “1998”, but “How long have you been here?” will get the answer “About 20 years”.

I guess it’s all about context for me.

I don’t have a consistent pattern; it depends on context and the amount of time.

I won’t respond with a number if the number is not at a rounded amount. Yesterday I could have answered a question with, “over a year and a half”, “20 months”, or since June, 2017”. I used the last one because it best demonstrated the amount of time while being accurate.

If I am at a doctor’s office and complain to the receptionist about how long I have waited, I would refer to the appointment, “I have been here since three o’clock, when my appointment was scheduled.”

When asking about “how long have you lived here?”, stating the year is better than stating the amount, because people can refer to the year in their memory more easily knowing what happened in 1986, rather than connecting “33 years ago” to what year that was.

If the details were that important , especially if the questioner is detailed orientated, then I would add the details that I know about it.
If just a general questions, then general answers are sufficient.

I try to answer how long in terms of time spans, and when in terms of time points, but I often take a while to remember and calculate about it, and that often has me shortcut to the other format if it’s something I can say something about sooner or with more confidence of correctness, rather than remaining slack-jawed for longer as I try to figure it out.

I use all of the above without any immediately discernible pattern.

I have relatives that come here to WV to visit. If we get in the car to go somewhere, they ask how many miles away is the destination. I always answer by time wise, not miles. They finally asked me why I did that. I said, what you really want to know is how long it will take to get there, correct? They said yes. Well, you can’t convert miles in Oklahoma to miles and time in WV. All their roads are straight and flat. Ours are curvy and mountainess.

Reminds me of the time the Mountainess asked Mohammed when he would come and he said he couldn’t and then later that same day, as they say, and ever since the rest is his story.