for a few years vs in a few years

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello :slight_smile:

Could anyone tell me what the difference is between the following sentences?

A: Innumerable books have been published for a few years.

B: Innumerable books have been published in a few years.

Thanks for your help :slight_smile:

2

A: over a period of a few years.

B: within a specific period of time.

3

To me, (A) seems ambiguous and unsatisfactory. In one interpretation, it seems to be saying that the books were published, and then a few years later stopped being published. This isn’t really possible: once a book is published it remains published for all time, even if it is no longer in print or readily available. It can’t be “unpublished”.

In (B), I understand “in a few years” to mean “over the course of a few years”. For example, if the “few years” are 2005-2011, then it’s saying innumerable books were published during the period 2005-2011.