For/In a long time
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Message de jihaire posté le 01-05-2020 à 12:47:12 (S | E | F)
Hello
I read ( In an American e-newspaper") this sentence:
She was "the most incompetent dictatorial governor that I’ve seen in a long time."
I should have said " For a long time"
What is the difference between "For a long time" and "In a long time"
Thank you
J.R.
Message de jihaire posté le 01-05-2020 à 12:47:12 (S | E | F)
Hello
I read ( In an American e-newspaper") this sentence:
She was "the most incompetent dictatorial governor that I’ve seen in a long time."
I should have said " For a long time"
What is the difference between "For a long time" and "In a long time"
Thank you
J.R.
Réponse : For/In a long time de gerondif, postée le 02-05-2020 à 16:31:15 (S | E)
Bonjour
Trouvé sur le net
We haven't talked to each other for years
We haven't talked to each other in years
My questions are the following ones: Are they both correct? If so, what's the difference in meaning? (in case there's such one).
réponse:
For negative statements in years is more common though both can be used:
We haven't talked to each other in years.
I haven't ridden a bicycle for years.
There's a subtle difference here that I only noticed while writing this post:
In years focuses on when the action last occurred.
For years focuses on the time since the action last occurred.
I think this is why in years is more common, since in negative statements people tend to focus on the past action itself.
Positive statements, on the other hand, can only use for years:
I've been working here for years. :right
I've been working here in years. :wrong
I believe this is for the same reason: A positive statement talks about the time since the action started occurring, so it can't use in years. :wrong
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