the recent years vs recent years

Both "the recent years" and "recent years" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Recent years" is more commonly used to refer to a period of time without specifying a particular starting point, while "the recent years" is used when referring to a specific set of years that have been previously mentioned or are known to the listener.

Last updated: March 26, 2024 • 823 views

the recent years

This phrase is correct when referring to a specific set of years that have been previously mentioned or are known to the listener.

Use "the recent years" when you want to refer to a particular set of years that have been previously specified or are familiar to the listener.

Examples:

The economic growth in the recent years has been remarkable.
In the recent years, there has been a significant increase in technology advancements.

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The phenomenon of illegal migration has been increasing over the recent years.
In the recent years, however, the number of new HIV infections has been rising again.
The statistical basis for monetary policy has improved considerably over the recent years, but further progress is needed.
The field of DNA computing is still at its infancy and first proofs of principles were made in the recent years.
Hence, the improvements in aid delivery over the recent years can not be explained by Devolution alone, but are the results of all efforts combined.
The European audiovisual industry has increased and improved quite significantly during the recent years while facing many new challenges and changes relating to the emergence of the digital environment.
The current investigation concluded that in the recent years the Union industry is again suffering material injury and that this was caused by dumped imports originating in Thailand.
Although regasification infrastructure is not present in all EEA States, regasification capacity has been growing strongly over the recent years.
Combating terrorism is a real challenge to the world and to Europe where, over the recent years, there is hardly a country which has not been affected, either directly or indirectly by this miserable kind of violence.
The JRC is established in five Member States and succeeded during the recent years to create very efficient relations with the new Member States and Candidate Countries.
In the recent years, the Commission has received several applications from different Member States concerning Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, which included costs of destruction of infested palm trees, and have been co-financed.
The Communication does not explicitly address one of the most important tendencies of the recent years, namely the use for law enforcement purposes of data collected in the private sector for commercial purposes.
In the recent years, the European Union has been involved with the Government of Uganda in a strong political dialogue, in which respect for human rights and the democratisation process are both high priorities.
The Cypriot authorities also pointed out that the total number of passengers in the Cypriot market remained relatively stable during the recent years, but that most passengers now originated from Israel and Russia.
whereas the frequency, severity, complexity and impact of natural and man-made disasters across Europe has increased rapidly over the recent years,
Being the Union the main partner of Morocco as far as trade, investment and aid is concerned, the possibilities for investment and trade have increased in the recent years also thanks to the Association Agreement in force since March 2000.
With respect to determining a reasonable profit the Public Service Compensation guidelines provide that the rate of return actually obtained by the public service provider must not exceed the average rate of return for the sector concerned in the recent years.
Membership is the right reward for the remarkable progress achieved by Croatia in its path to reforms in the recent years.
Over the recent years, Greece has recorded high growth rates driven by buoyant private consumption and dynamic investment activity, while employment growth accelerated significantly.
Our institution, whose previous resolutions had continuously called for the development of generic services, harmonised interfaces and use of standards, fully supported this approach, which in the recent years has proved highly successful.

Alternatives:

the past few years
the years that have just passed
the years of late
the years that have gone by
the years that have elapsed

recent years

This phrase is commonly used to refer to a period of time without specifying a particular starting point.

Use "recent years" when you want to talk about a general period of time in the near past without specifying a specific set of years.