How many times has it happened over/in the last/past three weeks?

[Michaelll]

Would it make any difference, if I changed 'over' to 'in' (or the other way around), and 'last' to 'past' (or the other way around) in the sentence below?

• How many times have you called her over/in the last/past three weeks?

 

[emsr2d2]

It wouldn't make any real difference to the meaning. Most BrE speakers would say "How many times have you phoned/rung her in the last three weeks?"

 

[Ms. Worth]

Would it make any difference, if I changed 'over' to 'in' (or the other way around), and 'last' to 'past' (or the other way around) in the sentence below?

• How many times have you called her over/in the last/past three weeks?

To "call someone over" means to beckon them toward you, toward your desk or work area.
> The boss called the new employee over to his desk to show her the assigned work.

I prefer "past few weeks" but I can't think of a way to explain WHY.
That a sign of usage, I believe.

My preferred sentence:
> How many times have you called her in the past three weeks?
(In the last three weeks, how many times did you telephone her?)

 

[jutfrank]

Different prepositions have different meanings. If you change the preposition, you change the meaning (where meaning can be nothing more than a very subtle focus). In this context, there's no apparent need to use over, so use in. It's just a question about how many times something has happened within a certain time period.

I say that if you do use over, then you're a bit more likely to use past.

 

[Mzungu39]

Isn't that just the difference between British and American English?

 

[jutfrank]

Isn't that just the difference between British and American English?

No, I really don't think so.

 

[emsr2d2]

To "call someone over" means to beckon them toward you, toward your desk or work area.
> The boss called the new employee over to his desk to show her the assigned work.

I don't think the OP was at any point suggesting that use of "call someone over". They were asking about the following four sentences, created by using the possible combinations of "over" or "in" and "past" or "last".

How many times have you called her over the last three weeks?
How many times have you called her over the past three weeks?
How many times have you called her in the last three weeks?
How many times have you called her in the past three weeks?