Before

I have seen her before.
I haven’t seen her before.

Present perfect. These are statements of fact.

–––––––

I saw her before.
I didn’t see her before.

Past tense. With before just hanging there, these are incomplete without a specific time expression, e.g., I saw her before I went to school. (This is not possible w

I disagree. The past-tense "before" is no more hanging or incomplete than the other ones. The past tense does not necessarily need a specific time reference.

canadian45The past tense does not necessarily need a specific time reference.

It does when before is used, as far as I’m concerned.

AnonymousI have seen her before./ I saw her before.

Hi,
Thank you for your comment. I just want to know if I can say 'I saw her before' instead of 'I have seen her before' without changing the meaning. Can I?

Anonymous AnonymousI have seen her before./ I saw her before.Hi,Thank you for your comment. I just want to know if I can say 'I saw her before' instead of 'I have seen her before' without changing the meaning. Can I?

Not normally in my variety of English, Britsh English/

Anonymous I just want to know if I can say 'I saw her before' instead of 'I have seen her before' without changing the meaning. Can I?

Hmmm. Not really. To my ear, something sounds wrong about I saw her before. There may be a context in which it works, but I can't think of one just now. (AmE)

CJ

CalifJimAnonymous I just want to know if I can say 'I saw her before' instead of 'I have seen her before' without changing the meaning. Can I?Hmmm. Not really. To my ear, something sounds wrong about I saw her before. There may be a context in which it works, but I can't think of one just now. (AmE)CJ

The following could be referri

canadian45"I just want to know if I can say 'I saw her before' instead of 'I have seen her before' without changing the meaning. Can I?" Yes, you can.

No. That would not be standard English.

canadian45There is nothing grammatically wrong with the simple past

I did not mean to leave anyone with this impression. What sounds wrong to me is the appropriateness of the usage, not the grammar.

CJ

canadian45You guys really should be less rigid. I understand that the present perfect is your strong choice, and you are welcome to use it. But that does not mean that simple past is wrong! There is nothing grammatically wrong with the simple past and the meaning is clear. So it is not wrong, and it should not be said to be wrong or implied to be wrong.

I don