need to have been

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ostap77

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"You need to have been living in Ukraine for 5 years to become a Ukraine national." How would you interpret this sentence? If were giving advice or talking about immigration formalities, I would say it refers to becoming a Ukraine citizen in the future after a person has lived in Ukraine for 5 years. I wonder if it could refer to a person who's already become a Ukraine national?
 
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Grumpy

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"If I were giving advice or talking about immigration formalities, I would say it refers to becoming a Ukraine citizen in the future after a person has lived in Ukraine for 5 years."
I agree with you on that.
However, in discussing someone who has already become a Ukraine national, then you would put it as "He had to have been living in (the) Ukraine for 5 years before becoming a Ukraine national", or "He had to have lived..."
 

ostap77

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Or he could probably say "I needed to have........" What do you think?
 
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SoothingDave

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Correct. "You need to..." refers to a future action. To describe the past, either "I needed to..." or "I had to..."
 

ostap77

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Would this grammatical construction be more typical of AmE? Or is it both AmE and BrE?
 
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ostap77

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I would kindly ask you to give me an answer. I need to include in my semestrial research paper.
 

Rover_KE

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It's OK in BE.
 

ostap77

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Could I get an answer on the American part?
 
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ostap77

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Since there hasn't been any answer on the American part, it wouldn't be as frequently used in AmE as in BE?
 

5jj

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Since there hasn't been any answer on the American part, it wouldn't be as frequently used in AmE as in BE?
Don't assume that. Wait for an American.
 

SoothingDave

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It's perfectly normal in AmE.
 
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