Learn English – How to use the preposition ‘in’and ‘for’ in an negative sentence.

british-englishgrammarprepositions

Here, the seventh point says I can use the preposition in in an negative sentence. Does it mean I don't have to use the preposition for and still it will be correct?

For example:

  1. I was there for three years.
  2. I was not there in three years.

Thanks for help.

Best Answer

Your sentence #2 is not grammatically correct. We would say "I have not been there in three years." (You will notice that both of the examples on the web page use the present perfect, not the simple past.)

for refers to the span of time at any point - that is, any three years. in refers to the most recent span of time, like the most recent span of time.

If you want to make a negative version of sentence #1, you would say "I was not there for three years." (That is, maybe you were there for one year, or for five years, but not three years.)

If you say "I have not been there in three years" it means "I have not been there during the most recent three years."

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