recent years做主语看做复数还是单数

问题描述:

recent years做主语看做复数还是单数
Recent years has witnessed a steady increase in college inrollment.
淘金高阶六级作文中原文,但在4页后又有这样一句
The past few years have witnessed a heated debate about university merge.
不知那种用法才是正确的

时间一般来说都是单数的