3

In the following context, is it okay to say "I ever met" or is it "I have ever met"?

Three years later you remain the coolest person I met.

Improve this question
3
  • I know there had been discussions about “unwelcoming” new users with simple questions, but this one does seem like a perfect fit for ELL.SE.
    – theUg
    Commented Jun 30, 2013 at 14:34
  • "ELL.SE" meaning the StackExchange site for English Language Learners
    – J.R.
    Commented Jun 30, 2013 at 14:51
  • I doubt that. This is a simple case of negative polarity. Ever is an NPI and superlative constructions are negative triggers. How many question answerers on ELL.SE will tell the questioner about that? For that matter, how many will do so here?
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jun 30, 2013 at 15:23

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
1

"You remain the coolest person I met" suggests that you are referring to a specific occasion on which you met a few people, of whom that person was the coolest. "...I have ever met" would sound better.

Improve this answer
1

"I have ever met" implies that she is the coolest person you have ever met until now. You haven't met someone that cool in the past. "You ever met" implies a past action and might not be a good fit for your case and may not even sound correct to some people. For a past thing, I would say something like:

She was the coolest person I'd ever met.

Improve this answer
0

Further to what Reg says, saying "You remain the coolest person I met" is nonsensical. How could the roll-call of people met on / in that - if not specific occasion, period ending with that specific occasion - have altered since? The set of candidates for 'coolest person met' has obviously been expanded in the intervening 3 years, so "I have ever met" is needed to include the period following the last encounter.

Improve this answer
1
  • It wasn't Reg. It was MaryC.
    – Noah
    Commented Jun 30, 2013 at 15:52
0

Simple answer that no one actually touched here is this:

One is in American English, while the other is British.

"I lost my phone" - American "I've lost my phone" - British

Improve this answer
5
  • Simple, but wrong. And doesn't address the question.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Dec 25, 2017 at 13:33
  • Hello, user3732783. If you can substantiate your argument by citing one or more third-party authorities, please do.
    – Sven Yargs
    Commented Dec 25, 2017 at 22:38
  • Here's an excerpt from Cambridge Advanced Learner's dictionary, First Reprint 2003: ibb.co/mcAVqR tchrist, the question was whether it should be "I ever met" or "I have ever met". It's about whether there should be an "have" here or not. And why it is so.
    – user3732783
    Commented Dec 26, 2017 at 13:58
  • I frequently say things like "I've lost my phone," despite being a native of the U.S., so I think that Cambridge may be overstating the case a bit in asserting that "I've lost" is strictly (or even primarily) British. Nevertheless, you've done your part by citing a third-party authority that supports your answer. Well done. +1.
    – Sven Yargs
    Commented Dec 29, 2017 at 5:03
  • 1
    Fact is, according to Oxford Dictionary, the US is Billfold and the UK is Wallet. But you'd find people saying Wallet in both the UK and US. What Cambridge said is actually theoretical; practically, people use both of them interchangeably. Because most people are neither aware of, nor cares about grammar nowadays. You'd see it when they're confusing their there and they're.
    – user3732783
    Commented Dec 30, 2017 at 8:41

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .