Question
Updated on
12 May 2021
- English (UK)
- French (France)
- German Near fluent
-
Arabic
-
Japanese
-
Russian
Question about English (US)
Never have I ever is the same thing as I have never, right?
For example
I have never spoken in public
Never have I ever spoken in public
Are these two sentences correct?
Never have I ever is the same thing as I have never, right?
For example
I have never spoken in public
Never have I ever spoken in public
Are these two sentences correct?
For example
I have never spoken in public
Never have I ever spoken in public
Are these two sentences correct?
Answers
When you "disagree" with an answer
The owner of it will not be notified.
Only the user who asked this question will see who disagreed with this answer.
Read more comments
- Romanian
@Brunomg It has to do with rethoric rather than grammar. Grammatically speaking, both "I have never" and "Never have I ever" are correct, but in the second one you have what's known as hyperbaton, the displacement of elements from their natural position for a rhetorical effect. Never have I ever stands out as a phrase, it's more formal and it's therefore more expressive, precisely because it is not the expected order, where the subject ("I") appears first.
- English (UK)
- French (France)
- German Near fluent
I heard this sentence in the news...
Never in my 3 years of experience have I ever seen this.
Never in my 3 years of experience have I ever seen this.
- English (UK)
- French (France)
- German Near fluent
- Romanian
- English (US)
- Spanish (Mexico) Near fluent
@Brunomg “I have never” is the phrase more commonly used, as @Andrei33 explained it’s used for a rhetorical or shock effect.
The usage is very common in a group game called “never have I ever” where a statement is said and players starting with 3-5 fingers up drop their fingers if they’ve committed the action stated.
I would also disagree that it’s actually more casual since you would not see it in formal writing as it adds confusion to the text. Formal text often looks for conciseness and not expression.
Highly-rated answerer
- English (UK)
- French (France)
- German Near fluent
You mean “never have I ever” is more casual, right?
- English (US)
- Spanish (Mexico) Near fluent
[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!
Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
Sign up
Related questions
-
We were never here.
We've never been here.
Are those two sentences equivalent in general?
answerThey are very similar and mean the same thing. The second one is more common though!
-
What’s the difference between these two sentences? Are both correct?
• Aren’t I always being mys...
answer@Ebubekir26 Both sentences are correct, and there is no difference.
-
Are these two sentences equally common?
I’ve never swam before
I’ve never swum before
answerI think so. A lot of people don't use "swum."
-
I also couldn’t speak English.
I couldn’t also speak English.
I often couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t...
answernot really, if you want to use "often" the rest has to be in present, you can say " I often can't do it" or "often, I couldn't do it" ♥️
-
I won't go there.
I'm not going there.
Do native speakers use both sentences often?
answerI’m not going there - more common! I won’t go there - we only say this if something bad happened at a place. If Your friend says restauran...
-
Which conjunctive adverb do you often use in a casual conversation?
Are these common in the nat...
answerNevertheless → still However → though/although whereas → while on the contrary → on the other hand (depending on how "on the contrary" is used)
-
Is the term enticing common in casual speech?
Just today alone I saw people use that two differen...
answerI wouldn't say it's all that common. Most kids probably don't know what it means. Your question does sound natural, though. (In context, I m...
-
I've never performed in such a big concert.
I've never performed in a concert of this size.
bot...
answer@hellllllllo yes
-
We know it not to be true.
We know (that) it is not true.
Q. Is the sentence structure used in ...
answerSame meaning, second sentence is more casual and very common. But you will still probably hear sentence one as it is still common.
Similar questions
- What is your favorite thing about learning a different language?
- What does "the whole hide-in-plain-sight thing" mean? 320 I put the word out with patrol... ...
- What is the difference between The thing is ... and The point is ... ?
Recommended Questions
- I was asked a question from my friend like, "what's this photo suppose to be?" in two separate...
- 日本語を人に教えてあげるときに 丁寧に話す時 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 日常会話で話す時 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX と書きたいです。 「丁寧に話す時」...
- what is correct? Where are you study? Or Where do you study? Thank you.
- Can I say "Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!" in the meaning of "Enjoy the rest of the weeken...
- How to respond to "I hope you are doing well"?
Topic Questions
- Is it possible to use "CATCH somebody TO DO something" form? I asked ChatGPT this question, and ...
- I select of people who want to meet in person carefully. So I don't meet eveyone that I met onlin...
- Which sounds more natural? 1. Our CEO regrets not being able to attend this meeting. He has asked...
- I'm looking for a friend who can talk English language to me daily so I can improve my English co...
- ❪What does the following audio clip say?❫
Newest Questions
- Which words are that have the meaning of "disappoint somebody" and be used with "down"? Like "...
- In this sentence, who is "standing" "He"? or "child"? He noticed the forlorn figure of a small c...
- does it sound natural? Osaka is secound biggest city in japan. It is famous of commedy and a loc...
- If only I wasn't a human, maybe this person won't ever fall in love with me. If only I weren't ...
- Tell me the answer. A ( ) is any animal that gives birth to live babies , not eegs.
Previous question/ Next question
What’s this symbol?
The Language Level symbol shows a user's proficiency in the languages they're interested in. Setting your Language Level helps other users provide you with answers that aren't too complex or too simple.
-
Beginner
Has difficulty understanding even short answers in this language.
-
Beginner-Intermediate
Can ask simple questions and can understand simple answers.
-
Intermediate
Can ask all types of general questions and can understand longer answers.
-
Advanced
Can understand long, complex answers.
Sign up for premium, and you can play other user's audio/video answers.
What are gifts?
Show your appreciation in a way that likes and stamps can't.
By sending a gift to someone, they will be more likely to answer your questions again!
If you post a question after sending a gift to someone, your question will be displayed in a special section on that person’s feed.
Tired of searching? HiNative can help you find that answer you're looking for.
