"Ever been..."

Question

Hi. Here is an exchange the validity of which I am debating with a coworker:

"Have you ever been bungie jumping?"

"Yes, I have ever bungie jumped."

Or alternately,

"Have you ever been to Japan?"

"Yes I have ever been there."

He says that in both cases the response indicates that the respondant has done so once - has been bungie jumping one time and has been to Japan one time.

I say that in both cases "ever" equates to "always", so that in the first example the respondant has been a bungie jumper as long as he can remember, and in the second he has lived in Japan his entire life and still does.

Any opinions would be most welcome, thank you!

=David

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

I find the use of "ever" there quite strange and don't find it to have either meaning.

I have gone bungie jumping once for his meaning, and I have been bungie jumping forever for your meaning.

I have been there once. I have lived there forever.

I'm sure others find "bungie jumped" okay, but I prefer "go bungie jumping."

Yankee · Answer

Repeating the word 'ever' in the response might possibly be used sarcastically or angrily. To me, such a response would not give any information at all about how often someone has done something -- it could have been just once or it could have been a hundred times. It only acknowledges that the person has done it at least once.

That's how I'd understand it. I would not expect to hear 'ever' in the response unless someone were responding sarcastically or angrily.

Neeraj Jain · Answer

For a negative response, you use "never". However, for a postitive response, I have never seen the user of "ever".

Marius Hancu · Answer

>I say that in both cases "ever" equates to "always"

Yes, and I would not use it.

"Ever been..."

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