[Grammar] Hardware has been 64-bit ready LONG before 64-bit operating systems were commonplace.

[Matthew Wai]

'Note too that hardware has been 64-bit ready LONG before 64-bit operating systems were commonplace.'── quoted from http://www.windowsbbs.com/pc-hardware/109126-all-present-day-cpus-64-bit.html#post636853

Is it grammatical to use the present perfect 'has been' here?

 

[tedmc]

The past perfect should have been used.

not a teacher

 

[emsr2d2]

I would use the simple past. "XXX was ready long before YYY was commonplace".

 

[Matthew Wai]

But the fact is that 'hardware has been 64-bit ready for a long time and it got ready long before 64-bit operating systems were commonplace'.

 

[emsr2d2]

That's true but you have changed the construction of the sentence.

"XXX was ready long before YYY was commonplace" is not the same construction as "XXX has been ready for a long time. It was ready long before YYY was commonplace".

The present perfect is fine in the first phrase, ending with "ready for a long time". It's not OK before "ready long before".

 

[konungursvia]

To me it simply lacks the word 'since' before 'long before.'

 

[emsr2d2]

"Since" would be needed there after "XXX has been ...", but not required after "XXX was ...".

 

[Matthew Wai]

To me it simply lacks the word 'since' before 'long before.'

Do you mean it is OK to say 'XXX has been (something) since long before something else happened in the past'?

By Google Search, I found examples of 'since a time long before'. Is it OK too?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes.

My friend has been dyeing her hair blonde since long before I started dyeing mine.
My friend was dyeing her hair blonde long before I started dyeing mine.

I don't see the need for "since a long time before" but I can't say it's ungrammatical.