last year / past year / in the last year / in the past year

[ShadeWe]

I kind of understand something, but I'm not sure:

Today is 2017. Last year is 2016. Right?
Today is 2017. The last year is the time beginning on 12.05.2016 (today's day and month) , and ending today (12.05.2017). Am I right?

What do past year and the past year mean then?

 

[GoesStation]

Today is May 12th, 2017 ("5/12/17" in AmE). Today, "last year" means any date in 2016. "The past year" means any date between 5/13/2016 (May 13th, 2016) and today.

 

[ShadeWe]

What does past year mean? (w/o the article)
And is it right that the last year means the same what you've said about the past year?

I forgot about the difference between the representation of date in my language and English.

 

[GoesStation]

What does past year mean? (w/o the article)
And is it right that the last year means the same what you've said about the past year?

Can you provide a context where we might see "past year" without the article?

"In the last year" will generally be understood to mean the same thing as "in the past year".

I forgot about the difference between the representation of date in my language and English.

That's only in American English. As far as I know, every Anglophone country other than the United States uses the more logical Day/Month/Year format. This includes Canada, but given their proximity to the US, Canadians know there's a risk of misunderstanding with the shorthand date format.

 

[ShadeWe]

Actually, I have probably never seen using of it without the article, but I thought It was possible for some reason :-|. Anyway, thanks ;-)

 

[GoesStation]

You may see something like this: Past-year results were similar to the current year's. This means that the company's profit or loss in previous years was similar to what they're reporting for the current year. In this accounting context, "past year" refers to an accounting or "fiscal" year which may or may not coincide with a calendar year. For example, "fiscal year 2016" could mean the period beginning June 1st, 2016 and ending May 31st, 2017. In such cases, the article should state clearly, at the beginning, the dates the company uses for fiscal years.