"These years"

Can “these years” be used in the same way that “these days” is used? I was just listening to a recording and it struck me as a little bit odd. Example: These years, people people don’t use tape recorders any more.

No. “In recent times” is good.

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But is it definitely wrong? Have you heard it before?

Personally I don’t want to say that it’s definitely wrong (who knows how it may be used in some regional variation), but it definitely sounds wrong to me. I’ve heard it many, many, many times, probably all of those times in Taiwan. In your original example, I think “these days” is better.

“All these years” is a valid collocation, but it has a meaning of looking back.

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I agree that it sounds wrong. “In recent years” and “in the past several years” are other alternatives. “These days” is a special case, which doesn’t really refer to “days” as a unit of time, and other units can’t be substituted for it.

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That’s why I compared it to “these days.”

I’m pretty sure it’s wrong as I’ve never heard or read anywhere someone/anyone using that phrase…In your example, “These years, people people don’t use tape recorders any more.” …“These days” or “Nowadays” would be a much better or correct alternative than These Years.

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