I had once been to New York.

Question

I'd be happy if someone would answer my questions. Thanks in advance.

Concerning the sentence: I had once been to New York. (Sorry no context)

Does this sentence mean I had been to New York before or that I had been to New York one time, or will both do?

Yankee · Accepted Answer

Hi Magic-dragon

Your sentence suggests 'one time' to me, but it's not possible to be sure without context.

Terryxpress · Answer

It certainly means he's been to New York before, but it can't be readily grasped whether it was a once-only visit. "had" is past tense, so the action is over, complete, and "once' means, one only. But "once' can also mean, one in a series of many.

As a bald statement, the sentence you give implies one time only. But look at these contexts:
"He talked about his trip to New York, and how much he had hated the pace of the city. I smiled, remembering that I had once been to New York and felt the same way. Many years later, business forced me to return to this hated metropolis, only to find that now I sensed and could respond to its vibrancy and energy with a passion no other city had ever evoked."
"He talked enthusiastically about his trip to the States, of Las Vegas and Chicago and Los Angeles, but my wanderlust was long dead. I had once been to New York, where the pace of the city only left me longing to return to the quiet of the peaceful countryside from which I have not since stirred."
Hope that helps.

Goodman · Answer

YankeeHi Magic-dragon

Your sentence suggests 'one time' to me, but it's not possible to be sure without context.

Well, to me, at least one time, but can not exclude the possibility of additional trips.

Yankee · Answer

Yes, the problem is that, without any context, the only thing that is certain in the sentence is that the speaker had been in New York 'one time', but we don't know whether it was the only time or not.

I'd been in New York one time/once.
Even if 'one time' were used instead of 'once' in the sentence, without further context, we still couldn't be sure whether that 'one time' was the only time.

Just a note about the tense:
As a stand-alone sentence, the use of the past perfect is not terribly appropriate in Magic-dragon's sentence. To justify the use of the past perfect in any sentence, there would normally be more to the sentence (e.g. a reference to another past event which happened after that time), or the broader context would justify the use of the past perfect.

Magic-dragon's sentence practically screams for additional context.

Magic-dragon · Answer

-I agree about the usage of Past Perfect. Thank you.

Magic-dragon · Answer

-Hi, Terryxpress. Thank you for your answer.

Are your contexts for showing that "had once been to New York" suggests both meanings (had been to New York one time / had been to New York before)?

I had once been to New York.

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