die这个动词容易用错。
如果我们说：5年前她父亲死于一次事故。
Her father died in an accident 5 years ago.
这里用die是正确的。
但是，他父亲去世5年了。
His father has died for five years.
因为5年是一段时间，在这里用die就是错误的；我们可以用形容词dead代替它。
His father has been dead for five years.
为什么？
因为在英语语言里，根据动作是否持续，动词要分延续性动词和短暂性动词。
在一些特定的语境中，像完成时态和until时间状语，要区别使用。
短暂性动词不能和表示“一段时间”的状语连用，上面的句子就是这种情况。
类似的情况很多：
He has left his hometown since he was a boy.
他从小就离开了家乡。
She has gone to Beijing for a week.
她已经去北京一周了。
She fell asleep for only 3 hours
她只睡了3个小时。
以上句子在中文里没毛病。但英文里，全是错句，谓语动词都是短暂性动词。
那么，怎么样说才是正确的呢？
我们要做的就是用延续性动词或表示状态的系表结构代替短暂性动词。
His father has been dead for five years.
He has been away from his hometown since he was a boy.
She has been to Beijing for a week.
She slept for only 3 hours
想具体了解怎么转换吗，可以看看我前面对实义动词的解释
实用英语语法 第十三讲 实义动词
