It's twenty years since I've seen her.

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hoangkha

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Hi, teachers!
Could you please explain the meaning of the following sentence.Thanks in advanced!
- It's twenty years since I've seen her.(OALD)
I think it means I've seen her (many times) for twenty years.
Am I wrong?
 
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emsr2d2

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I last saw her twenty years ago.
I haven't seen her for twenty years.
 

emsr2d2

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[strike]Hi, teachers![/strike] Unnecessary

Could you please explain the meaning of the following sentence. Thanks in [strike]advanced[/strike] advance!

- It's twenty years since I've seen her.(OALD)

I think it means I've seen her (many times) for twenty years.

Am I wrong?

As you can see, you are wrong. Can you explain how you came to the conclusion that it meant "I've seen her many times for (should be "in") twenty years"?
 

SoothingDave

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Hi, teachers!
Could you please explain the meaning of the following sentence.Thanks in advanced!
- It's twenty years since I've seen her.(OALD)
I think it means I've seen her (many times) for twenty years.
Am I wrong?

Try it without the contractions and omissions. It has been twenty years since I have seen her.
 

probus

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I think it means I've seen her (many times) for twenty years.

If that is what you wish to say, it should be "I have been seeing her for twenty years."
 

emsr2d2

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1. I've seen her (many times) for twenty years.

2. I have been seeing her for twenty years."

If you said #1 in BrE, it would be slightly incorrect and would have to be changed to "I've seen her many times over the last twenty years". It would simply mean that you have met up with the same woman many times in the years since 1993.

If you said #2 in BrE, it would mean that you have been dating the same woman for the last twenty years (so since 1993).
 

hoangkha

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I last saw her twenty years ago.
I haven't seen her for twenty years.
According to what you said, the below sentences have the same meaning.
It's twenty years since I've seen her = It's twenty years since I last saw her = I last saw her twenty years ago = I haven't seen her for twenty years.
Is it right, please?
 

5jj

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hoangkha

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If you said #1 in BrE, it would be slightly incorrect and would have to be changed to "I've seen her many times over the last twenty years". It would simply mean that you have met up with the same woman many times in the years since 1993.

If you said #2 in BrE, it would mean that you have been dating the same woman for the last twenty years (so since 1993).
I have seen this sentence.
- She's been dating Ron for several months. (OALD)
 

bhaisahab

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renzheng04

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I last saw her twenty years ago.
I haven't seen her for twenty years.

1.It's twenty years since I've seen her.

= I first saw her twenty years ago.

2.It's twenty years since I last saw her.

=I last saw her twenty years ago.

= I haven't seen her for twenty years.

--------------------------------------
Excuse me .I am neither English nor a teacher !!!!!!
 

5jj

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1.It's twenty years since I've seen her. = = I first saw her twenty years ago.
Not necessarily. I could have seen her forty, thirty and twenty years ago but not since.
 

emsr2d2

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1.It's twenty years since I've seen her.

= I first saw her twenty years ago.

No, not necessarily. That would be "It's twenty years since I first saw her".
 

renzheng04

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Not necessarily. I could have seen her forty, thirty and twenty years ago but not since.

Thanks alot,but I haven't got your points yet.

1.It's twenty years since I've seen her. =I first saw her twenty years ago.['first saw her' I mean ' saw her for the first time']

"I could have seen her twenty - one years ago" is impossible, I think.It must be exactly 20 years.(the first time I saw her).
 

emsr2d2

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Thanks alot,but I haven't got your points yet.

1.It's twenty years since I've seen her. =I first saw her twenty years ago.['first saw her' I mean ' saw her for the first time']

"I could have seen her twenty - one years ago" is impossible, I think.It must be exactly 20 years.(the first time I saw her).

NO. "It's twenty years since I've seen her" = I LAST saw her twenty years ago. You might have seen her in 1964, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988 and 1993 but you haven't seen her at all since 1993. It tells you nothing about when you first saw someone. It only says when you last saw them.

As I said in my last post, pretty clearly, if you first saw someone twenty years ago and you want to use the word "since", you must say "It is twenty years since I first saw her".
 

renzheng04

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Thanks alot.

Do you mean , "It's twenty years since I've seen her" , this sentence is incorrect ?

(Because people usually say : "It's twenty years since I last saw her" =I last saw her twenty years ago.

= I haven't seen her for twenty years.)
 
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emsr2d2

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renzheng04

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Where did I say that?

Sorry .That might come from my problem That I don't understand why "It's twenty years since I've seen her" = "It's twenty years since I last saw her" .=>since I've seen her = since I last saw her (no difference between them) .

In reality , I usually think the starting points to count for the 20 years betweem them are different .Am I wrong?
 
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