The meaning of "for"

@David Toklikishvili posted:

Does  the word  "for" make any difference between the following sentences:

I've been in France four months.

I've been in France for four months.

Hello, D.T.—No it doesn't make any difference whether you add "for"; the meaning will be the same either way. Incidentally, the sentence is ambiguous. It could mean either that you have been in France (for) the last for months or that it is true that, at some point, you have been in France (for) four months. So, if you are talking about the last four months, it would be good to add "the last."

So if I am no longer in France at the time  of speaking I can still  say "I have been in France  (for) four months"?

@David Toklikishvili posted:

So if I am no longer in France at the time  of speaking I can still  say "I have been in France  (for) four months"?

Yes. Again, the meaning in that case will be that you have been there for a four-month period at some point during your lifetime up till now. For example, I've been to India many times, but I have never been there for a month. If I had been there for a month, then I could say that I have been in India for a month.