it has been a long time since I have left home for a long time.

[tufguy]

We say "it has been a long time since I left home for a long walk". Can we also say "it has been a long time since I have left home for a long time"? Is it correct to use present perfect after since?

 

[tedmc]

It is correct to use the prefect perfect tense after "since" but why repeat for a long time"?

 

[jutfrank]

Can we also say "it has been a long time since I have left home for a long time"?

It's quite grammatical, but logically, borders on comically absurd. Leaving home for a long time is not something you can do with great frequency.

 

[Tarheel]

I suppose the grammar is OK, but I would have to wonder what you are trying to say.

 

[emsr2d2]

Natural English: I haven't been for a nice long walk for ages.

 

[Tarheel]

Natural English: I haven't been for a nice long walk for ages.

That makes sense. But that sentence doesn't say "you" left home (picked up and moved somewhere else) to do it.

 

[tufguy]

It is correct to use the prefect perfect tense after "since" but why repeat for a long time"?

I wanted to write "for a long walk".

 

[jutfrank]

I wanted to write "for a long walk".

Ah, well that did a great job of confusing us!

As well as emsr2d2's suggestion above, you could say:

It's been a long time since I've been for a long walk.

Some points to note:

1) The verb leave home can have a sense of permanence. This is what Tarheel understood, I think.
2) The verb go for a walk is a natural way of saying what you mean.
3) We often use ages to mean 'a long time'. This is very natural in BrE but I don't usually recommend learners use it. (Could AmE speakers tell me whether it's natural in AmE?)
4) It is quite correct and very common to use present perfect after since.

 

[rajan]

Can we say "It has been a long time since I left home."

 

[emsr2d2]

That makes sense. But that sentence doesn't say "you" left home (picked up and moved somewhere else) to do it.

I believe tufguy was trying to express "leave the house" or "go out" rather than "leave home".

 

[Rover_KE]

It is correct to use the present perfect tense after "since", but why repeat "for a long time"?

:-|

 

[GoesStation]

3) We often use ages to mean 'a long time'. This is very natural in BrE but I don't usually recommend learners use it. (Could AmE speakers tell me whether it's natural in AmE?)

It's not unknown but it isn't common.

 

[GoesStation]

Can we say "It has been a long time since I left home."

Yes. It means "since I permanently moved from my childhood home."

 

[emsr2d2]

As always, context will be a big clue.

In the middle of a pandemic, with people being advised to shield, if someone said "I haven't left home since last August", we would know they meant that they hadn't set foot outside their front door since August 2020. We'd know they didn't mean that the last time they grew up and fled the nest was August 2020.

If the conversation was about growing up, or someone's history, and they said "I left home in 1975", we'd know they meant that they moved out of the family home to become independent. We'd know they didn't mean they hadn't set foot outside the house since 1975.

 

[tufguy]

I believe tufguy was trying to express "leave the house" or "go out" rather than "leave home".

I haven't left the house for a long walk for a long time. I should say "left the house" rather than "left home". Sorry for repeating "for a long".

 

[jutfrank]

Okay, that's correct now.

 

[Tarheel]

Tufguy, if you say you went for a long walk you don't have to explain that you had to go outside (leave the house) to do it. The same thing applies if you want to say you haven't been for a long walk in quite a while. You don't have to say you haven't gone outside (left the house) to do that. I assure you that no one will be confused and think you took a long walk inside the house.

 

[probus]

It's not unknown but it isn't common.

Perhaps then there are regional variations. I feel it is very common where I live (Toronto). In fact I feel it is an essential phrase in my dialect.

 

[GoesStation]

Perhaps then there are regional variations. I feel it is very common where I live (Toronto). In fact I feel it is an essential phrase in my dialect.

I don't remember hearing it a lot when I lived there, but I'm not surprised it's widely used in Toronto. It's evidently another British usage like "Tuesday week" and "she would do" that's more common in Canadian (or at least Torontonian) English than in the American variety.

 

[jutfrank]

I've always assumed it was quintessentially British, which is why I've always steered clear of teaching it. It doesn't surprise me too much that it's commonly used among Canadians, but I am surprised to learn that some US speakers use it because I really can't ever recall hearing it. I would think it would stand out to me if they did.

Do you ever say it, GS?