What is the function of 已 in 好像她已出去好几天了。

Question

What is the purpose of 已 in the following sentence？

好像她已出去好几天了。

The English translation given is:

It looks as if she's gone away for a few days.

Or is this an incorrect-character, supposed to be something else?

Answer 1

Here 已 has the same meaning as 已经 and means already. When speaking one would normally use 已经, but in written documents 已 can be found.

I would translate 好像她已出去好几天了 as "It seems she's already been gone for some days".

Answer 2

Indeed "It looks as if she's gone away for a few days" is an incorrect translation.

I would translate this as "It seems she's already been gone for quite a few days".

If the 已 were excluded, I would translate it as "It seems she's been gone for quite a few days."

So the 已 emphasizes the passage of time, just like "already" in English.

Answer 3

已=已经. It just represents the past perfect tense. I think [been] is necessary here. The sentence implies that the subject never came back during the few days, in this case past perfect tense is appropriate.