[General] died vs has been dead

[Olympian]

Hello,

I read the following sentence in a comment under a news article.

My husband has been dead since my children were little.
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I have read such sentences (with 'has been dead since/for') before. So it looks like common practice. How about 'My husband died when my children were little'

Are both sentences correct? Is one better than the other?

To me, the 'has been' usage feels strange. It seems like I would use it for something like 'Gold prices have been down since last year', and it may indicate that perhaps the prices will rise again at some point. But since a dead person remains dead, it seems odd to use 'has been dead'.

Thank you



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[probus]

Both are perfectly correct.

Personally I would prefer "has been dead" if I was going to speak about present consequences of the death, and "died" if I was going to address consequences over the intervening years. But it's a tiny difference, a personal preference, not a rule.

 

[Olympian]

Thank you, Probus!

 

[tzfujimino]

Hello, Olympian.:-D
I know that you are really happy to receive a useful reply from probus. However, there's no need to create a new post to express your gratitude.
I'd like to quote from one of Rover_KE's posts:

"Your appreciation is welcome but there is no need to write a new post to say Thank you. Simply click the Thank button on any posts you find helpful. It means that we don't have to open the thread again to read your new post and then find that it doesn't include any new information or an additional question.

It saves everybody's time."