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Never vs Ever
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The words never and ever have very similar meanings, but never is a negative word (it means ‘not ever’) and ever is a positive word. This means you can only use never with positive verb forms, while ever can be used with both positive and negative verb forms.
Never
Never means ‘not ever’, ‘at no time’, or ‘zero times’ in the past or the future. We must use never with a positive verb form.
With an imperative
We often use the word never with the imperative form of a verb to give a command, offer advice, or encourage someone to do something.
- Never say that again.
- Never stop dreaming.
- Never give up.
With the present simple
We can use the word never with a verb in the present simple to talk about how often we do something.
- I never travel alone.
- He never answers my calls.
With the present perfect
We often use the word never with a positive present perfect verb to talk about things that have happened zero times up to now.
- I’ve never been to Italy.
- They’ve never told you the truth.
We can also use this structure with the word before to talk about an experience we are having for the first time.
- I’ve never seen this man before.
Ever
Ever means ‘at any time’ or ‘at all times’, and we often use it in negative sentences or questions.
With an imperative
We often use the word ever with the negative imperative form of a verb to give a command, offer advice, or encourage someone to do something.
- Don’t ever do that again. (=Never do that again.)
- Don’t ever give up.
In present simple questions
We can use ever in present simple questions to ask someone if they do something at any time.
- Do you ever go swimming?
- Do you ever study in the library?
With the present perfect
Negative sentences
We use ever in negative present perfect sentences to emphasise that something has not happened at any time.
- I haven’t ever been to Japan. (=I have never been to Japan.)
- She hasn’t ever seen a ghost.
Questions
We use ever in present perfect questions to ask if something has happened at any time up to now.
- Have you ever tried sushi?
- Has he ever been to New York?
Superlatives
We use ever with superlatives to indicate that something is the best, worst, most interesting, etc., at any time.
- This is the best movie I have ever seen.
- That’s the worst meal I’ve ever had.
The first/second/etc. time
We use ever with the first, second, etc., and the present perfect to indicate that something is happening for the first, second, etc., time.
- This is the first time I’ve ever been to Paris.
- It’s the second time he’s ever won a prize.
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