Difference between 'in the last 4 years' and 'for the last 4 years'

Question

While I was reading a book, I found the sentence "This city has changed in the last 4 years.".

What I learned at school is "This city has changed for the last 4 years" is correct.-Present perfect goes with the preposition 'for'.

So, I asked my American friends if both sentences have the same meaning, and everybody had different answer.

One said there was no difference. Another said there was difference, but he didn't know how to explain the difference.

Thank you.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Sometimes no difference is intended. But here a few comments on subtleties.

"This city has changed in the last 4 years.". The change may only have happened at one point in the last 4 years.
Consider eg 'Have you broken your leg in the last 4 years?'

"This city has changed for the last 4 years" This suggests more that the change has been happening during the last 4 years.
Consider eg Tom has worked at IBM for the last 4 years.'

Clive

Bonghak Yoo · Answer

Appreciate that

Dimsumexpress · Answer

Hi Bonghak Yo,

Bonghak YooPresent perfect goes with the preposition 'for'.

Yes and no. It is not always true but true in most context. I have known him for four years. I've worked for XYZ for five years.
In contexts like these, it's true.

Consider: China has changed a lot in the last four years. This bears the meaning: During or within this span of time, there has been a great deal of changes. If we used "for" in this sentence, The core of the meaning may pass as relatively the same, but what it really says is: Because of the passing of the last four years, China has undergone a lot of changes. So with this context, "in" is the appropriate prep. I agree, the underlying significance is quite subtle.

Now consider this sentence: With the flu and a fever, she hasn't eaten in / for two days. I think either prep. is considered correct in this context. So the bottom line is, with the general rule for present perfect, "for" is generally correct, nut not always.

Difference between 'in the last 4 years' and 'for the last 4 years'

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