over the past decades vs over the last decades

Both phrases are correct, but "over the past decades" is more commonly used in English. They both refer to a period of time spanning several decades.

Last updated: March 27, 2024 • 1693 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"over the past decades"

This phrase is used to refer to a period of time spanning several decades leading up to the present moment.

Examples:

Over the past decades, technology has advanced rapidly.
The population has grown significantly over the past decades.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: October 29, 2024

Oct 25, 2018 ... Over the past decades, atoll islands exhibited no widespread sign of physical destabilization in the face of sea-level rise. A reanalysis of ...
Mar 21, 2006 ... Water discharge and sediment flux changes over the past decades in the Lower Mekong River: possible impacts of the Chinese dams. X. X. Lu and ...
Aug 13, 2014 ... The changes could also reflect climate change over the past decades, with the areas at altitudes above 4000 m having warmed 0.3°C per decade.
Dec 1, 2015 ... Research papers. Estimation of vertical land movement rates along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico over the past decades · 1. Introduction · 2.
Feb 7, 2023 ... Arctic warming contributes to increase in Northeast Pacific marine heatwave days over the past decades · Abstract · Introduction · Results ...
Northcroft lecture: how has the spectrum of orthodontics changed over the past decades? J Orthod. 2011 Jun;38(2):134-43; quiz 145. doi: 10.1179 ...
Oct 15, 2008 ... Magnetic poles and dipole tilt variation over the past decades to millennia. Earth Planet Sp 60, 937–948 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1186 ...
Oct 3, 2017 ... The treatment outcomes of PCNSL have significantly improved over the past decades, and we anticipate that up to half of the newly diagnosed ...
Nov 6, 2019 ... ... r/GODZILLA - Godzilla and Mothra's Relationship over the Past Decades up to now. Archived post. New ...
May 15, 2022 ... Over the past decades, my husband and I have thrown dozens of parties for our three children. While a few of these celebrations were just ...

Alternatives:

over the last few decades
over the previous decades
over the recent decades
over the past several decades
over the decades

This phrase is correct but less commonly used in English.

"over the last decades"

This phrase is also used to refer to a period of time spanning several decades leading up to the present moment.

Examples:

Over the last decades, there has been a shift in consumer behavior.
The economy has fluctuated over the last decades.

Show examples from the web [+]

People have been noticing that Betelgeuse has been changing a lot over the last decades.
Some sections of this rail line, one of Taggart's most important have fallen into disrepair over the last decades.
This resolution on repealing of certain legal acts that have become obsolete concerns a number of acts which were adopted over the last decades have exhausted all their effects, but remain technically in force.
Over the last decades, smuggling and trafficking have become a major activity and source of income for criminal organisations at national and international level.
There are currently many contaminated sites in the Community posing significant health risks and the loss of biodiversity has dramatically accelerated over the last decades.
While industry has made significant efforts in this area over the last decades, much remains to be done.
There are currently some 300.000 sites in the Community which have already been identified as definitely or potentially contaminated posing significant health risks and the loss of biodiversity has dramatically accelerated over the last decades.
However, as over the last decades, European society is facing deep social changes: employment and the labour market are undergoing major transformations which will lead to rapidly changing social realities for working people.
over the last decades, the amount of waste generated in Europe has grown considerably.
Many legal acts in the area of the Union Common Commercial Policy which were adopted over the last decades have exhausted all their effects, but remain technically into force.
Mr President, in the 27 countries of the European Union we have a proud tradition, developed over the last decades, of fighting together against discrimination, and of making discrimination illegal and something to be discouraged.
The Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM Protocol) aims to reverse the trend of the deterioration of environmental conditions recorded in the Mediterranean over the last decades, which has merited denunciation by environmentalists and men of culture, such as the Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
If they were, the improved economic status of Ireland over the last decades should be matched by improvements in social cohesion, rather than the rise in serious crime, addiction, suicide, alienation, family dysfunction, exclusion and loneliness that we actually see.
Along with the obvious role played by the USA and Japan, other world regions have burst on to the scene over the last decades such as the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China).
- its progress over the last decades is based on increasing adaptability resulting from innovation, permitting an integration of various competitive components that is then marketed worldwide;
C. whereas migration within the Union and immigration into the Union has increased over the last decades, changing in many places the composition of schools,
Ibid.; whereas the significant decrease in mortality in cervical cancer over the last decades can be ascribed to the introduction of screening programmes (pap test) in the Member States,
whereas migration within the Union and immigration into the Union has increased over the last decades, changing in many places the composition of schools,
D. Recalls that the role of the European Union as a global player has increased over the last decades and that a new approach is needed if the EU is to act collectively and meet global challenges in a coherent, consistent and efficient manner;
C. whereas economic ties between the EU and the US are an important stabilizing factor for the transatlantic relationship in general and have grown so significantly over the last decades that both partners have an increasing stake in each other's economic development,

Alternatives:

over the past decades
over the recent decades
over the previous decades
over the last few decades
over the decades

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over the past decades vs over the last decades