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SuperESL Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Hence
"The project will be completed at the end of the decade, two years hence."
Can 'hence,' in the sense of 'from now', be used in a past context? As in:
"Stalin swore in 1938 that he would complete agricultural collectivization by the end of the decade, two years hence." ?
If not, what substitute phrase or word would you suggest for the same effect?
Thank you.
Can 'hence,' in the sense of 'from now', be used in a past context? As in:
"Stalin swore in 1938 that he would complete agricultural collectivization by the end of the decade, two years hence." ?
If not, what substitute phrase or word would you suggest for the same effect?
Thank you.
Top answer
I don't think that would cause any confusion. However, to be safe, you could use from then.
- I don't think that would cause any confusion.
- However, to be safe, you could use from then.
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5 Answers
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I don't think that would cause any confusion. However, to be safe, you could use from then.
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SuperESLCan 'hence,' in the sense of 'from now', be used in a past context? As in:"Stalin swore in 1938 that he would complete agricultural collectivization by the end of the decade, two years hence." ?No. You need 'thence'. Note, however, that both 'hence' and 'thence' in the temporal meanings are marked as archaic in the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary
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Yes, the way you are using it in the first sentence is fine, although "from now" or "in two years" are more common. I don't think you can use it in the second sentence because "hence" refers to something happening in the future. In this sentence it refers to something that happened in the past. Instead you could say, "...in two years." In order to make it a bit clearer, you could also add "
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CalifJimYou need 'thence'. … and 'thenceforth',…Ah! Good call! I wasn't aware of those little gems. Archaic or not, I like them.
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