Get a relative time string in PHP without a lot of if/else or switch/case

time_elapsed_string.php

<?php
/**
 * time_elapsed_string()
 *
 * @author      Zachary Johnson
 * @link        http://www.zachstronaut.com/posts/2009/01/20/php-relative-date-time-string.html
 *
 * @author      Vyygir
 * @link        https://gist.github.com/Vyygir/5a70d8007141cf49541b967c8e9a2280
 * @description I had to modify this slightly from the previous version, as it was causing errors
 *              in my environment, and I really just needed a quick solution for relative time.
 */
function time_elapsed_string($ptime) {
    $etime = time() - $ptime;

    if ($etime < 1) {
        return '0 seconds';
    }

    $a = array();
    $a[12 * 30 * 24 * 60 * 60]  = 'year';
    $a[30 * 24 * 60 * 60]       = 'month';
    $a[24 * 60 * 60]            = 'day';
    $a[60 * 60]                 = 'hour';
    $a[60]                      = 'minute';
    $a[1]                       = 'second';

    foreach ($a as $secs => $str) {
        $d = $etime / $secs;

        if ($d >= 1) {
            $r = round($d);
            return sprintf('%s %s%s', $r, $str, ($r > 1 ? 's' : ''));
        }
    }

    return false;
}