To describe that a problem kept going for a long time

J

jephen

New Member
Chinese
Dear all
I'm going to send a mail to remind someone who was assigned to solve some problems.
The problems kept going for a long time, they were still not solved.
How can I describe or emphasize that it was on-going for such a long time that we have to solve it asap?

Thank you.
 
    • I looked it up for a long time but didn't find appropriate words or expresstions to describe it.
    I hope someone can help me out.
     
    I can think of a couple of possibilities but long-standing problem seems the best choice here. You can choose between long-lasting or perrenial, for that matter, those have similar meanings but I would go for the first one :)
     
    I agree with dreamlike on the "long-standing problem" and that this is probably the best choice. "Perennial" would mean that the problem is more or less permanent, which is not quite the intended meaning, although "perennial problem" is perfectly acceptable. For reasons I cannot explain, I would not say "long-lasing problem" although there is nothing in the phrase that suggests it may be a bad choice... Maybe "long-lasting" is more suitable in contexts where we are talking about something nicer - say, a freindship, joy, effect, etc. Or at least I am more used to seeing "long lasting used" that way so I may be unjustly prejudiced against it in this scenario. :)
     
    If you don't stick to using an adjective,
    "This problem has been around for a long time" could also work rather than your "kept going"
     
    A recurring problem would sound fine, were it not for the fact that it betokens a problem which comes and goes in a regullar pattern. In this case, problem is occuring unceasingly.
     
    Last edited:
    I think dreamlike's "long-standing" is hard to beat, however, I could suggest "persistent" "age-old" or "six month-old" (or however long).
     
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