Meaning & use
inclusive years
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Meanings
phraseplural
A span of years in which both the first and the last year are counted as part of the period.
Grammar: Usually follows a range of years: 'from 2010 to 2015 inclusive years' means five years, not four.
Patterns
- from 2000 to 2010 inclusive years
- the inclusive years 1990–2000
- count something in inclusive years
The war lasted from 1939 to 1945, six inclusive years.
In inclusive years, the project ran from 2018 to 2020, so three calendar years were involved.
Historians often state periods in inclusive years to avoid confusion about the endpoints.
phrasepluralformal
Years that are counted so that the whole of each one is included, rather than only the time between two dates.
Grammar: Common in legal, historical and financial writing where exact counting matters.
Patterns
- serve five inclusive years
- a term of inclusive years
The contract covers three inclusive years, beginning on 1 January.
She served two inclusive years as chair of the committee.
Common combinations
- from 1990 to 2000 inclusive years
- From 1990 to 2000 inclusive years, the population grew by a fifth.
- count in inclusive years
- Accountants count the period in inclusive years to get the total right.
- a period of inclusive years
- The lease is for a period of five inclusive years.
- inclusive years of service
- Her inclusive years of service added up to twenty.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inclusive dates
- Similar idea but refers to the written start and end dates rather than whole years.
- calendar years
- Refers to years as units of the calendar; it does not by itself say whether both endpoints are counted.
Opposites
Word family
- inclusion noun
- The act of including someone or something in a group or total.
- inclusively adverb
- In a way that includes both ends of a range.
- inclusive adjective
- Counting both the first and last item of a range.
Commonly confused: inclusive years or inclusive of?
inclusive years vs inclusive of
The phrase 'inclusive of' means 'including' and is followed by a noun, as in 'the price is inclusive of tax'.
Practice
A course runs from September 2019 to June 2021. How many inclusive years does it cover?
Choose one answer.
Counting 2019, 2020 and 2021 as inclusive years gives three. Choosing two would leave out one endpoint, which is exactly what 'inclusive' prevents.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “inclusive years”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.