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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Has been or Have been?
"The five years I stayed here has/have been very fruitful."
Do I use has or have been? Or would a simple pass tense be better?
Do I use has or have been? Or would a simple pass tense be better?
Top answer
" It's "simple pas t ," and it's up to you.
- " It's "simple pas t ," and it's up to you.
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4 Answers
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"Years" is the subject; it's a plural noun; use a plural verb "have been."
It's "simple past," and it's up to you.
It's "simple past," and it's up to you.
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Anonymous"The five years I stayed here has/have been very fruitful."I'd think of 'five years as a single period of time; I'd use 'has'. Similar examples are:
$1 million dollars is a lot of money.
Five minutes isn't long to wait for your drink to arrive,
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X = the present moment
[ - - - - - - - ] .......................X
< 5 years >
The five years I stayed here were very fruitful.
(Simple past; you are not still here.)
______________________________
.......................[ - - - - - - - - X ]
.........................< 5 years >
The five years I have [stayed / been] here have been ve
[ - - - - - - - ] .......................X
< 5 years >
The five years I stayed here were very fruitful.
(Simple past; you are not still here.)
______________________________
.......................[ - - - - - - - - X ]
.........................< 5 years >
The five years I have [stayed / been] here have been ve
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I take your point. I was thinking of "fruitful" as a succession of multiple propitious events marking individual years, but upon consideration, I think your interpretation is better.
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