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Tinanam0102 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

What's the meaning "If ever" in this sentence?

Hi teachers,

I read this on the news:

"It's something that the average person is not going to see very often, if ever." said FBI spokesman.

What does "if ever" mean?

Thanks

Tinanam
  

Top answer

That there is a good chance they will never see it.

— Ferdis

  • That there is a good chance they will never see it.
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5 Answers
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That there is a good chance they will never see it.
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Hi Ferdis,

Thank you. Could you tell me why isn't "if never"?

Regards,

Tinanam
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tinanam0102Hi Ferdis,
Thank you. Could you tell me why isn't "if never"?
"if ever" bscially stands for: "Under the condition that (if) you will ever see one". So it is not guaranteed that you will ever see one, but if you do, then it won't happen often.
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ferdis"if ever" bscially stands for: "Under the condition that (if) you will ever see one". So it is not guaranteed that you will ever see one, but if you do, then it won't happen often.

Hi Ferdis,

The first part just tells you that "....not going to see very often", but "it is not guaranteed that you will ever see one..." Does "if ever" res
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"It's something the average person is not going to see very often, if ever."

This could be said this way:

"If the average person ever sees it, it still won't be very often."

"If ever" is used to emphasize that the odds of it being seen are very low. The odds are so low that it would be a surprise if they ever see it at all.
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