I want to retire in 10 years.
Posted by Lotg on October 24, 2003
In Reply to: I want to retire in 10 years. posted by EE on October 24, 2003
: Does the above mean I want to retire within the next ten years and therefore can be just 7 or 8 years, etc. or does it mean that I want to retire 10 years from now and not earlier? Also, would American and British English make a difference here?
I'm Australian, so I probably don't qualify to answer the last question, although I doubt it would matter whether it was UK or US English.
However, I think the sentence is incomplete. I think what it implies is: I want to retire in 10 years time.
If so, that suggests at the end of a 10 year period, or at the 'time' that 10 years is up, I will retire. However, I think you've raised a good point, because if taken literally, it could be taken to mean 'within' 10 years.
- I want to retire in 10 years. ESC 25/October/03