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MarvinTheMartian Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Already, before, previously

0Hi, I need someone else's opinion. I can't decide which of the following sentences would sound best in a letter. Perhaps you might help. Which one should I use and why? Please elaborate. Are they all aceptable?02br
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001. "I may have recommended you this book before..."02br
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002. "I may have previously recommended you this book..."02br
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003. "I may have recommended you this book already..."02br
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00How about the interrogative form?02br
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001. "Have I (ever) recommended you this book before?"02br
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002. "Did I recommend you this book previously?"02br
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003. "Have I already recommended you this book?"02br
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00And now for the possible answer:02br
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001. No, I don't think you've (ever) mentioned it before.02br
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002. No, I don't remember you (ever) mentioning it before.02br
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003. No, I don't remember you previously mentioning it.02br
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00Please correct any mistake on my part, whether they be related to the question or not.0-
  

Top answer

0I may have recommended 01b 00this book to you02b 00 already/previously/before. These are all fine, but note the word order. 02br 02br 00Although we can say "I sent the letter to you" and "I sent you the letter" we 01i 00cannot02i 00 use recommend that way.

— BarbaraPA

  • 0I may have recommended 01b 00this book to you02b 00 already/previously/before.
  • These are all fine, but note the word order.
  • 02br 02br 00Although we can say "I sent the letter to you" and "I sent you the letter" we 01i 00cannot02i 00 use recommend that way.
  • "02br 02br 00Once you fix the word order, they're all fine, except #3 in the responses -- technically, it's "your previously mentioning it" but you'll hear "you" quite often.
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5 Answers
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0I may have recommended 01b00this book to you02b00 already/previously/before. These are all fine, but note the word order. 02br
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00Although we can say "I sent the letter to you" and "I sent you the letter" we 01i00cannot02i00 use recommend that way. Don't say "I recommend you the book."02br
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00Once you
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0Thanks, you've killed two birds with one stone. I've often wondered whether it could be used that way. My friends frequently make that mistake. (i.e. "Did i recommend you...") Their influence seems to have rubbed off on me. 05002br
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00In some of my examples, I put brackets around the word "ever" because I'm not sure whether it would be preferable to include it in the
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0Use either "ever" or "before" but not both.0-
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0Are you sure they can't be used together? I often run into sentences like "You've never mentioned this before". This led me to the logical conclusion that one could say "I don't think you've ever mentioned it before." What conclusion should I draw from this?0-
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0They're redundant. But you do as you wish.0-
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