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I understand that "so and so will happen in a few years" (which means so and so will happen with after a few years pass) is different from "so and so will happen within a few years."

It seems to be that the above rule does not apply to the following sentence.
"Decisions we make in the coming years will
profoundly affect the natural world."

Does the above sentence mean "decisions we make with an elapse of the coming years" or "within the coming years."?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I understand that "so and so will happen in a few years" (which means so and so will happen ~~with~~ after a few years pass) is different from "so and so will happen within a few years." Correct.

It seems to be that the above rule does not apply to the following sentence.
"Decisions we make in the coming years will profoundly affect the natural world."

Does the above sentence mean "decisions we make with an elapse of the coming years" or "within the coming years."? The latter.

Let's consider these examples.

A "It will happen in a few years" This means after a few years.

B "It will happen in the next few years'. This means within the period of the next few years.

C "It will happen in the coming years." This means within the period of the coming years.

It seems to me the difference is that the phrasing in B and C suggests a time period starting from now , but the phrasing in A does not.

Consider 'When the volcanoes start to erupt, they will destroy the Earth in a few years.' This does not mean 'starting from now'.

Clive

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