recently / in recent years

[optimistic pessimist]

Hi all,

Can the word "recently" cover the past several years?

e.g. Recently, more and more elementary schools in Japan have been introducing tablets into their classes.

If I want to refer to the past several years, do I have to say "in recent years" or "in the past several years" for clarification?

I realized recently that I didn't know the time range covered by recently. ​

OP

 

[emsr2d2]

I think a few years is a bit too long for "recently" without any kind of qualifier. I'd say "In the last few years" (that's still unspecific but certainly suggests a long period of time than "recently").

 

[GoesStation]

"Recently" works if you've established a context in which "several years" is a relatively short time. Otherwise, use "in recent years" or a similar phrase.