In years gone by, could it be starting a sentence in an essay?
I just wanted to say something different from : in the past , or in the last 50 years.
Don't know if it is too poetic.

Thanks

Question

In years gone by, could it be starting a sentence  in an essay?
I just wanted to say something different from : in the past , or in the last 50 years.
Don't know if it is too poetic.

Thanks

Answer

Hi there,

That's a very good question. I would personally say that it is too poetic. Unfortunately all of the other possible phrases for 'in the past' that I can think of are also very poetic.

The only other possibilities from my point of view would be to be specific about the era you are talking about.  Or alternatively you could say 'since + a point in history':

'Since the second world war period...'
'Since the late 1800s..'
'Since the mid-20th century...'

or you could use 'in' to specify the time period:

'In the past half-century...'