Here we see Ra’s nearly 500 years as a man

Question

Interweaving flashbacks with a story set in the present, Birth of the Demon fills in some mysterious blanks that we have been wondering about for years, but it also gives us the type of action we crave from these Ra’s vs. Batman tales. Here we see Ra’s nearly 500 years in the past as a man that is as driven and idealistic as Batman, but without the moral compass of Thomas and Martha Wayne watching over him at all times.

I'd like to know what meaning I should interpret the phrase "in the past" as.

Thank you in advance for your help.

GPY · Accepted Answer

"500 years in the past" just means 500 years ago. The character Ra's is apparently over 600 years old.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, GPY, for your clear answer.

I'd like to know whether there is chance that I can take it that "in the past" modifies "500 years."

GPY · Answer

park sang joonThank you, GPY, for your clear answer. I'd like to know whether there is chance that I can take it that "in the past" modifies "500 years."

I suppose in a sense you could. Opinion may vary about whether "modifies" precisely describes the relationship.

RandomGuy · Answer

The NP nearly 500 years modifies the PP in the past, forming a larger PP which in turn modifies see. Notice that the NP can be omitted without loss of grammaticality and without changing the function of the in phrase:

He we see Ra’s in the past as a man...

But if in the past is omitted, nearly 500 years will no longer have anything to modify:

*Here we see Ra’s nearly 500 years as a man...

Note that the as phrase is not an appropriate head. NPs measuring temporal extent modify PPs with temporal meaning.

Here we see Ra’s nearly 500 years as a man

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