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Xcalibur Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
had never met
Hi. In the following sentence, can I use "have never met" instead?
She wanted to stop by his office because she had never met him in person. But when she got there, he wasn't in his office.
"had never met" gives me the impression that she had never met him before, but she finally got to meet him, when in reality she still hasn't. For example, doesn't "I had never seen anything like that" imply that I have now seen something extraordinary.
Also, this got me thinking. Is "I have never seen anything like that" a correct expression? I see people uttering this sentence on TV after they've just seen something unusal. But when you say "have never + verb," I always thought you still haven't done it up to that point (e.g., "have never played the piano" means you still haven't as of that point). So what I'm trying to say is the person has now actually seen it, but "have never seen" indicates otherwise.
Thank you
She wanted to stop by his office because she had never met him in person. But when she got there, he wasn't in his office.
"had never met" gives me the impression that she had never met him before, but she finally got to meet him, when in reality she still hasn't. For example, doesn't "I had never seen anything like that" imply that I have now seen something extraordinary.
Also, this got me thinking. Is "I have never seen anything like that" a correct expression? I see people uttering this sentence on TV after they've just seen something unusal. But when you say "have never + verb," I always thought you still haven't done it up to that point (e.g., "have never played the piano" means you still haven't as of that point). So what I'm trying to say is the person has now actually seen it, but "have never seen" indicates otherwise.
Thank you
Top answer
Xcalibur Hi. In the following sentence, can I use " have never met " instead? No.
- Xcalibur Hi.
- In the following sentence, can I use " have never met " instead?
- No.
- She wanted to stop by his office because she had never met him in person.
- But when she got there, he wasn't in his office.
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3 Answers
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XcaliburHi. In the following sentence, can I use "have never met" instead? No.
She wanted to stop by his office because she had never met him in person. But when she got there, he wasn't in his office. This is the correct form.
"had never me
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Thank you for the help, Philip.
So I was thinking maybe I didn't explain my other questions clearly. I'll have a second go at it.
Here is the situation:
John had never seen a lion before until today when he visited the zoo.
He says to his classmates the next day, "I have never seen anything like that, with an enormous head and a beautiful mane."
So I was thinking maybe I didn't explain my other questions clearly. I'll have a second go at it.
Here is the situation:
John had never seen a lion before until today when he visited the zoo.
He says to his classmates the next day, "I have never seen anything like that, with an enormous head and a beautiful mane."
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XcaliburThank you for the help, Philip.
So I was thinking maybe I didn't explain my other questions clearly. I'll have a second go at it.
Here is the situation:
John had never seen a lion before until today when he visited the zoo.
He says to his classmates the next day, "I have never seen anything like that, with an enormous hea
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