it's (has been)...since...

Ofrienfdragon1. It's three years since I last smoked a cigarette.
2. It's been three years since I last smoked a cigarette.

Ofrienfdragon1. It's three years since I last smoked a cigarette.
2. It's been three years since I last smoked a cigarette.

1. it is three years...
2. it has been three years...
A1: ^ that is the difference.
A2: you would use number one when saying something like today, it's three years.. when you have a certain date you are refering to
number two is more of a general statemenet saying how long it has been in the past instead of saying what today is. Overall they mean pretty much the same thing.

This is absolutely correct.

This thread is a few years old! Anyway, I don't know which anon you are but I find your answer not only misleading, it is also wrong . First of all, you should capitalize your sentences correctly if you want to offer to help.

Anonymous you would use number one when saying something like today, it's three yea

grammarfreakAny time when we use the "since" construction to refer to something back in time, the present perfect is the only correct construction.e.g. It's been 3 years since I saw a movie in the theater. " It is 3 years since....." is ungrammatical.

I wouldn't be so quick to discard it. As far as I know, "It is X years since..." is not uncommon in British En

ozzourti "It is X years since..." is not uncommon in British English.

I think we are discussing main-stream English, by that I mean English recognized as commonly accepted and deemed grammatical, am I on the right path here ? This particular pattern in discussion is not used for all I know, nor I hear natives spoken that way living in California for over 30 y

grammarfreakI think we are discussing main-stream English, by that I mean English recognized as commonly accepted and deemed grammatical,

I wouldn't say that British English is not commonly accepted or deemed ungrammatical. Would you?

I love the British accent. But I don't know British English enough to say whether the "it is x years " pattern is or it is not commonly accept. I'll say it again. I am speaking as a Californian living in northern part of the state where many people from different nations live, including the Brits, and what we hear on the mdeia and how people use the language is what I would call main-stream. I hav

grammarfreak I am speaking as a Californian living in northern part of the state where many people from different nations live, including the Brits, and what we hear on the mdeia and how people use the language is what I would call main-stream.

My sincere apologies. I had not realised that the English that Californians are exposed to is 'main-stream' and that,