Bean
It's three years since he was a teacher. (This is Chinese middle school translation exam) 1. Is it right grammatically ? 2. That mean “He was not a teacher for three years” or “He has been teacher for three years”
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الإجابات · 12
3
It is a weak, but not incorrect, sentence. As you pointed out, people will interpret it in two opposing ways. Some people, including many native speakers, will read it and think he has been a teacher for the last three years. Other people will think that he stopped being a teacher three years ago. The second interpretation is the correct one but a sentence that 50% of native speakers will misunderstand should not be spoken. It can be cleared up like this: If he started teaching three years ago, say "It is (or 'has been') three years NOW since he BECAME a teacher". If he stopped teaching three years ago, avoid the word "since" and say "He has not been teaching for three years now." or "For three years now he has not been teaching."
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2
"He hasn't been a teacher for three years."
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2
It means he has not been a teacher for three years. It would be clearer to say "It's been three years since he was a teacher" or "It's been three years since he last taught at school" or something like that. I hope that helps.
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This type of sentence is often made clearer by emphasising the time since X happened. Like this. Making the sentence longer, long sentences are a part of the English language. Although you may be taught to make sentences shorter, In English sometimes you can't. 1. It has been three years since he was last a teacher. 2. It has been three years since he last taught. Also these type of sentences can't always be shortened, when you do so you get ambiguity of meaning.
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Is it grammatically correct? Yes. Meaning: He stopped being a teacher three years ago.
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