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    Language lab

    Have you ever vs. Were you ever

    12­ Replies
    Topic

    Have you ever vs. Were you ever

    Comment
    I have searched in this forum and also on the internet, but I did not find any appropriate answer.

    I am confused about the usage of "have you ever" and "were you ever".
    I know that both things CAN be used, I usually use "have you ever...?". However, the BBC English lesson here http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningeng... has the sentence "Were you ever in the Boy Scouts?"...in this case, I would have used "Have you ever been..". Why do they say "Were you ever in the Boy Scouts?"
    What should I use when I don't ask about places someone has visited? I know that you usually say "Have you ever been to the USA?".
    But should I say "Have you ever been hungry?", "Have you ever been angry at your parents?", "Have you ever been bored?" or "Were you ever hungry?", "Were you ever angry at your parents?", "Were you ever bored?". Why? And what about "Did you ever..."?


    Thanks a lot in advance!
    Authordedicated (757424) 01 Feb 14, 02:07
    Comment
    I believe the two formulations are interchangeable. Either of them would work in the example sentences you have given.

    I agree that Have you ever is probably used more often.

    (AE)
    #1AuthorHappyWarrior (964133) 01 Feb 14, 02:28
    Comment
    I'm not a grammarian, but this is how I see it:
    Have you ever been... would mean at any time from when you were born until today - more or less: have you ever been to New York?
    Were you ever... is something you could say about an event etc. that wouldn't apply to anything more recent, such as the boy scouts if you're a grown man: were you ever a boy scout (when you were a kid)?
    #2AuthorKai (236222) 01 Feb 14, 02:30
    Comment
    Thank you!
    About the second answer: So could it also be a very long or repeated - NOT nonrecurring - event and the only important thing is that it has stopped by now? Is that a general rule for the simple past?

    #3Authordedicated (757424) 01 Feb 14, 02:44
    Comment
    Like I said, that's how I see it.
    #4AuthorKai (236222) 01 Feb 14, 02:47
    Comment
    Okay, thank you!
    #5Authordedicated (757424) 01 Feb 14, 02:51
    Comment
    If there is a difference at all, it's in register I think; "Were you ever in the Boy Scouts" sounds a wee bit more formal than "Have you ever been..."

    but "Were you ever in NY?" could mean "work/live there?", whereas "Have you ever been to NY?" means have you ever visited. How I see it.
    #6Authormikefm (760309) 01 Feb 14, 15:02
    Comment
    On the 'Boy Scout' question Kai has given the right answer.

    Suppose that someone asks a 40-year-old man, 'Have you ever been to New York?' This would mean 'Have you been to New York at any time from your birth to the present day?'

    If someone asked the same man, 'Have you ever been a Boy Scout?' that would also mean at any time from birth to now -- but that would make no sense because for the last 20 years or so (I don't know what the upper age limit is) he can't have been a Boy Scout. So, as Kai said, you use 'were you' because it relates to a period in the past -- 'when you were a kid'. Here the 'ever' means at any time during that period. (BE; don't know about AE.)

    #7AuthorHecuba - UK (250280) 01 Feb 14, 16:34
    Comment
    A past tense can be used if the event/action/process etc. took place within a period of time which has finished. If you are asking an adult this question, I think it might reasonably be assumed that the period has finished, and a past tense sounds quite okay. If you ask a 13-year-old, I would be more tempted to use the present perfect. These judgements are of course pragmatic. Assuming football referees can be middle-aged, it would be reasonable (and polite?) to say: Have you ever been a football referee? A past tense here would imply that he's past it (literally).
    #8Author escoville (237761) 01 Feb 14, 19:39
    Comment
    To elaborate on the explanations especially in #2 and #4: The question “Have you ever been angry at your parents?” (#0) would imply that your parents are still alive – even if you’ve never been angry at them yet, you still have the chance! If you were to ask “Were you ever angry at your parents?”, this would imply that they’re no longer with us. (At least that’s how it is in UK/Aus English; I’ve heard that US English is more likely to use the simple past here even in the former case.)
    #9Author Stravinsky (637051) 02 Feb 14, 00:16
    Comment
    In #1 I suggested that the two formulations are interchangeable (in terms of meaning), and I continue in that view.

    I see the distinctions made in subsequent posts as possible nuances based in personal preference, but not as rigid distinctions that one must observe in order to be correct. (Again: AE.)
    #10AuthorHappyWarrior (964133) 02 Feb 14, 03:42
    Comment
    #0, #9: On second thoughts, shouldn't it be angry with rather than angry at?
    #11Author Stravinsky (637051) 02 Feb 14, 10:52
    Comment
    Yes I think so - it's like me posting "in TV" recently instead of "on TV". :-)

    er, on second thoughts, I'm not so sure: Both possible?
    #12Authormikefm (760309) 02 Feb 14, 11:52
     
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