两者意思相同，均表示“在过去……年中”，这类用法除可用介词 in 之外，也可用介词for, during, over, within 等，其中的“时间” 也可以是 two hours, four weeks, few months 等，但若是 one week, one month, one year 等单数形式，则应省去one。这类结构一般与现在完成时态连用。如：
I have been here (for) the last [past] month. 最近一个月里我都在这儿。
In the past past] two years I’ve seen him little. 过去两年我很少见到他。
We’ve been having bad weather these last past] few weeks. 这几周来天气一直不好。
My business has decreased during the last past] two months. 最近两个月内，我的生意减少了。
He has made great progress in English in the past past] few years. 在最近的几年中，他在英语方面取得了很大的进步。