There's also the perennial question of whether the last day ends on the multiple of 24 hours from the time when the deadline was given, if it means midnight of that day, or closing time of that day, or what. And does "7 days" mean 7 calendar days, or 7 business days? Etc.
In most organizations, vacation days are usable at the employee's discretion, up to a certain yearly limit. Days off is a more informal phrase that includes a variety of kinds of paid-not-to-work days, including sick leave, maternal/paternal leave, floating holidays, national holidays, etc. Vacation days are a subset of days off. "Vacation days" or "days off" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange So when we say 'the past few days' we mean the complete set of 'past few days', not just some of them, and which means this time phrase matches the tense.
30 Days Forecastlibrary Detail, Do we use the phrase 'past few days' on its own? Highly unlikely, it lacks a sense of which days. meaning - Past few days or the past few days? - English Language ... The form must be filled out within 10 days before the flight.
30 Days Forecastlibrary Detail, Fill out the Entry Form within 10 days before your flight. What is the meaning of within in these sentences? Is it before 10 days before the flight? or Is it after 10 days before the flight? I.e. 8 days or 5 days or even 1 day before the flight is ok (even the same day as the flight)?
I would read the first as referring to a deadline, the second referring to a total accumulation of days spent. For example, "This project must be finished within 30 days" is different than "This project must be finished in 30 days or fewer." - The first establishes a "date" the second just establishes a duration/or level of effort. Logical meaning of "within 30 days" compared to "in 30 or fewer days ...
