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Are these sentences correct? And what's the difference?

1- The last few days were a nightmare for me. I don't want to think about those days.

2- The last few days have been a nightmare for me. I don't want to think about those days.

Note that the bad days are gone.

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  • Both are fine in this context. Is there some reason you think you have to use one or the other?
    – Andrew
    Sep 11, 2017 at 19:41
  • hi @andrew, I had a little doubt in mind. So I asked it.
    – subhajit dalal
    Sep 11, 2017 at 19:44

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If you are intending to say that the bad days are gone, you should use the first sentence. "Were" is the past tense, indicating that the nightmare is a thing of the past. The speaker has gotten over it.

In another context you might be able to use "had been a nightmare" which is the past perfect tense. This also indicates that the nightmare is over.

If you wished to say that the emotional trauma of the nightmare remains, even though the events causing it are in the past, then you should use the second sentence. "Have been" is the present perfect tense. It describes something which happened in the past and is continuing into the present.

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  • +1 for everything except the past perfect, which gets a 1 point deduction :) There's no context here that justifies the past perfect. Not unless the sentence were embedded in a story about something that had happened in the distant past, and the narrative present was situated at some time in the past.
    – TimR
    Sep 11, 2017 at 22:43
  • @Tᴚoɯɐuo Yes I realised it did not fit in the present context, but thought it worth including. I shall edit my answer.
    – sammy gerbil
    Sep 11, 2017 at 23:04

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