Timeline for Is “last year is 2016” correct?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
27 events
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| Dec 30, 2017 at 18:53 | comment | added | English Student | " 2016 was last year. 2016 is in the past." __ That's just right @EllieK! | |
| Dec 30, 2017 at 0:05 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 21:50 | comment | added | EllieK | @English Student I get it. 2016 was last year. 2016 is in the past. | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 21:02 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 20:52 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 20:44 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 20:36 | comment | added | English Student | You can say something like "2016 is over" "2016 is done and dusted", "2016 remains a landmark year for the global economy" or even "1776 represents a historic change in our politics" because 1776/2016 refers to a particular year just like 1877 or 1980 @EllieK. However "last year is" appears awkward because "last year" explicitly means "past year" and therefore demands a past tense verb. | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 20:30 | comment | added | English Student | It probably peaked in 1980 @Mr.Lister. I think that is the peak for "1980 is" on that ngram. | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 17:43 | comment | added | Mr Lister | Anyway, how come the phrase "1980 is" did not peak in 1980? | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 13:57 | comment | added | EllieK | But can we say, "2016 is last year"? If we think of 2016 as a subject surely it can be something. Grandma WAS a good grandma but she IS in the cemetery. | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:54 | comment | added | English Student | OK, now modified the opening statement of my answer to "Last year is always "the past year" which is why the past tense "was" should be used in this particular case: Last year was 2016," @Mari-lou A. I shall try to find and quote the exceptions. | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:52 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:51 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | No. Because we have seen that "last year is", when referring to statistics or data of some sort, is acceptable. It's the phrase "last year is 2016" that is wholly wrong but that's my view. If you can find an exception then I'd post that example. | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:50 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:40 | comment | added | English Student | Yes indeed it is not acceptable @Mari-lou A. Would you advise me to categorically state in the answer that "last year always refers to the past and therefore "was" must always be used?" | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:36 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | You must look at the results at the bottom of the graph, many are referring to facts and figures while the small proportion of respondents who have arranged a personal pension plan in the last year is not surprising The instances are mostly referring to statistics, not to the previous calendar year. The phrase "last year is 2016" is just not acceptable. | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:31 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:24 | comment | added | English Student | "last year is" seems surprisingly well represented over 200 years @Mari-lou A: books.google.com/ngrams/… | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:21 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | There's nothing intriguing about "last year is 2016" except for the fact it is unidiomatic and wrong. Last year will always refer to the past. Did you check the results for "last year is" | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:18 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | My comment was tongue in cheek, "1984" is the title of a book by George Orwell, only it is written as a word "nineteen eighty-four" not a number. P.S. I would be very surprised if someone in the 1800s ever mentioned 1980 using the past tense :) | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:06 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | I bet if you changed 1980 with 1984 you"d get a whole different picture. 😜 books.google.com/ngrams/… | |
| Dec 29, 2017 at 10:00 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 9:55 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 9:48 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 9:36 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 9:30 | history | edited | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Dec 29, 2017 at 9:25 | history | answered | English Student | CC BY-SA 3.0 |