What's the difference between 'past' and 'last' in the following phrases?
the practice of the past ten years has proved that they are correct.

the practice of the last ten years has proved that they are correct.sorry, they are two sentences, not phrases. But I mean the difference between the phrases —— 'past 10 years' and 'last 10 years'

Question

What's the difference between 'past' and 'last' in the following phrases?
the practice of the past ten years has proved that they are correct.

the practice of the last ten years has proved that they are correct.sorry, they are two sentences, not phrases. But I mean the difference between the phrases —— 'past 10 years' and 'last 10 years'

Answer

They both mean the same thing. For example it is now 2013, so 'in the past/last 10 years' would refer to  the years 2003-2013.

Answer

In that context they are interchangeable

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