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For example , is it correct to say that " The service has been not available since 3 days ago ". And, Is the meaning of it different from "The service has't been available since 3 days ago"

Edit: changed "have" to "has"

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    You can not use "since" in that way. The service HAS not been available FOR three days. The serviceS HAVE NOT been available FOR three days. Regarding "since" - just don't use it, it's too confusing. If you wanted to use "since": It HAS been three days SINCE the services WERE available.
    – Fattie
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 7:00
  • Or 'the service has not been available since Monday'. But as regards the original question 'has been not avialable' sounds awkward and unusual. It's better to say 'has not been available'.
    – WS2
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 7:58
  • +Joe, does it mean I should not say, "I have not eaten since three days ago"? "I have not been eating since three days ago" is bad? Where did you get that rule? Pls explain.
    – Blessed Geek
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 8:22
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    Yes, it's grammatical. Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels) wrote satirically: "After having inquired into and considered the state of the war, in which the part your majesty has borne appears to have been not only superior to that of any one ally, but even equal to that of the whole confederacy …" Surely nobody would suggest Jonathan Swift didn't write good English. Is it advised? Unless you know what you're doing, most definitely not.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented May 21, 2014 at 8:49

3 Answers 3

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No, both versions are grammatically incorrect on multiple accounts, but mean the same thing. You should say either:

The service has not been available for 3 days.

Or:

The service hasn't been available for 3 days.

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  • Use "since" to specify a date
    – Karan Alangat
    Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 7:08
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Both sentences are wrong, in both cases, the service is singular, and so should the verb be. I'll assume that have't is a typo for haven't.

That said, in sentence "The service has been not available since 3 days ago" is parsed like this:

[The service] [has been] [not available] [since 3 days ago].

Now, not available, as a single concept, is idiomatically rendered as unavailable. Although not available means the same, it sounds "off" since the normal expression is unavailable.

So, although the version with not available is grammatically correct, a better version, that would sounds more natural, would be:

The service has been unavailable since 3 days ago.

This sentence means exactly the same as

The service hasn't been available since 3 days ago.

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To illustrate the logical validity of "have been - since".

  • Animals have been domesticated since the dawn of civilization.
  • Humans have been domesticating animals since the dawn of civilization.
  • Could you get some real food? I have been eating cupcakes for lunch since we arrived three days ago.

By induction, the logic of the following sentence is valid.

  • The service has been erratic since 3 days ago.

And, therefore the logic of the following is also valid

  • The service has been available since 3 days ago.
  • The service has not been not available since 3 days ago.

Consider the following and compare with I can't not be pregnant.

  • The doctor told me my pregnancy was a false alarm. I have invested too much emotionally, as well as in the baby clothes. I need to be pregnant. I cannot not be pregnant.

Therefore, the 2nd sentence in the following, though unusual, should be perfectly valid ...

  • The service has been unavailable since 3 days ago.
  • The service has been not available since 3 days ago.

~ QED.

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