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Does the following sentence imply that X is included in the last release or not?

Since the last release, we have integrated feature X.

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In a word, yes ... – Carlo_R. Jul 15 '12 at 18:40
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@carlo that's not helpful. OP--your sentence implies that a new feature was added to the current release that was NOT in the previous – simchona♦ Jul 15 '12 at 18:51
@simchona: I also thought it implied the last release contained the feature, but when I asked they said, no, it was since the last release, so it'll be in the next release... which made me wonder which is correct. – Mehrdad Jul 15 '12 at 18:56
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Then, what is the difference between "since the ..." and "after the ..." I'm confused, sorry. – Carlo_R. Jul 15 '12 at 19:01
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The difference between since and after (when they are used for time) is roughly the same as difference between the present perfect and the simple past. Since often means the time between the stated time and the current time, and after means some point past the stated time. In this case, since and after mean essentially the same thing (since might imply that it took them more time to add it, while after might imply that they added it in response to something that happened at the last release). – Peter Shor Jul 15 '12 at 19:14
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3 Answers

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The short answer is no. The word since means having occurred in the span of time that starts after an event on up until the present.

The example above would insinuate that there is either a subsequent patch, or that the feature is complete and will be released in the future.

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It implies that feature X has been added since the last/previous/June release. (Otherwise, what's the point of mentioning it?)

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Yes, I agree. +1 - one question: do you know what part of speech "since" here is? – Carlo_R. Jul 15 '12 at 20:29
Is there someone that knows what part of speech "since" is in current OP example? I'm asking as combread ninja, probably, is no longer on line. – Carlo_R. Jul 15 '12 at 21:01
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It's a preposition – Colin Fine Jul 15 '12 at 21:18
@Colin Fine - thank you. - – Carlo_R. Jul 15 '12 at 21:33
Why is this just repeating the phrase in my question? (Regarding your second sentence: "The point of mentioning it" was that I asked if/when the feature was added.) – Mehrdad Jul 15 '12 at 22:12
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up vote 1 down vote

The long answer is that OP's cited usage of "since" is ambiguous. For example...

I've loved her since I first met her.

...would always be taken to mean that the loving and the first meeting coincided (i.e. - "since" includes the time of the event mentioned). But...

Since Styllou Christofi was executed in 1954, only one other woman has been executed in Britain.

...clearly doesn't include the 1954 execution in the scope of "since".

To provide an unambiguous meaning you'd have to rephrase with something like "As from" (definitely includes the event), "After" (probably doesn't include the event), or "At some time after" (definitely doesn't include the event).

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Since would only be ambiguous in this case if the statement had been made in the past-perfect tense: ie: "this feature has been integrated since"; the fact that past tense was used indicates that the event predated the time span. – Bryan Agee Jul 16 '12 at 6:23
@Bryan Agee: You already said that in your own answer, but I disagree. – FumbleFingers Jul 16 '12 at 12:24

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