Is the action “had ever” understandable
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What is the correct use "had ever" or "have never" tried it? Are both acceptable? The quote my question comes from is, "Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students saying they had ever tried it." "Had ever" just doesn't seem to come together correctly.
tenses
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
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What is the correct use "had ever" or "have never" tried it? Are both acceptable? The quote my question comes from is, "Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students saying they had ever tried it." "Had ever" just doesn't seem to come together correctly.
tenses
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
6
Possible duplicate of Use of “ever” in non-negated sentence. Only Tolkien seems to have broken its negative-polarity status acceptably in recent-ish years. You need 'only' before 'about 36%'. And ' ... have ever ...'.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jun 17 at 23:35
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up vote
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down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
What is the correct use "had ever" or "have never" tried it? Are both acceptable? The quote my question comes from is, "Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students saying they had ever tried it." "Had ever" just doesn't seem to come together correctly.
tenses
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
6
What is the correct use "had ever" or "have never" tried it? Are both acceptable? The quote my question comes from is, "Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students saying they had ever tried it." "Had ever" just doesn't seem to come together correctly.
tenses
tenses
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
6
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
6
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
6
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
6
asked Jun 17 at 23:32
MJP
6
6
Possible duplicate of Use of “ever” in non-negated sentence. Only Tolkien seems to have broken its negative-polarity status acceptably in recent-ish years. You need 'only' before 'about 36%'. And ' ... have ever ...'.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jun 17 at 23:35
add a comment |
Possible duplicate of Use of “ever” in non-negated sentence. Only Tolkien seems to have broken its negative-polarity status acceptably in recent-ish years. You need 'only' before 'about 36%'. And ' ... have ever ...'.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jun 17 at 23:35
Possible duplicate of Use of “ever” in non-negated sentence. Only Tolkien seems to have broken its negative-polarity status acceptably in recent-ish years. You need 'only' before 'about 36%'. And ' ... have ever ...'.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jun 17 at 23:35
Possible duplicate of Use of “ever” in non-negated sentence. Only Tolkien seems to have broken its negative-polarity status acceptably in recent-ish years. You need 'only' before 'about 36%'. And ' ... have ever ...'.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jun 17 at 23:35
add a comment |
1 Answer
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'Ever' is not needed in the sentence after 'had'.
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students
saying they had tried it.
Alternatively the negative of the sentence would use 'had never'
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 64 percent of students
saying they had never tried it.
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
1
If you had ever stopped to consider this closely, you would realize that the construction sometimes is quite commonplace and unobjectionable.
– Robusto
Oct 16 at 22:34
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
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active
oldest
votes
up vote
0
down vote
'Ever' is not needed in the sentence after 'had'.
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students
saying they had tried it.
Alternatively the negative of the sentence would use 'had never'
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 64 percent of students
saying they had never tried it.
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
1
If you had ever stopped to consider this closely, you would realize that the construction sometimes is quite commonplace and unobjectionable.
– Robusto
Oct 16 at 22:34
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
'Ever' is not needed in the sentence after 'had'.
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students
saying they had tried it.
Alternatively the negative of the sentence would use 'had never'
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 64 percent of students
saying they had never tried it.
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
1
If you had ever stopped to consider this closely, you would realize that the construction sometimes is quite commonplace and unobjectionable.
– Robusto
Oct 16 at 22:34
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
'Ever' is not needed in the sentence after 'had'.
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students
saying they had tried it.
Alternatively the negative of the sentence would use 'had never'
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 64 percent of students
saying they had never tried it.
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
'Ever' is not needed in the sentence after 'had'.
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 36 percent of students
saying they had tried it.
Alternatively the negative of the sentence would use 'had never'
Marijuana use seems to be hovering, with about 64 percent of students
saying they had never tried it.
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
answered Jun 17 at 23:39
Manhatton
525110
525110
1
If you had ever stopped to consider this closely, you would realize that the construction sometimes is quite commonplace and unobjectionable.
– Robusto
Oct 16 at 22:34
add a comment |
1
If you had ever stopped to consider this closely, you would realize that the construction sometimes is quite commonplace and unobjectionable.
– Robusto
Oct 16 at 22:34
1
1
If you had ever stopped to consider this closely, you would realize that the construction sometimes is quite commonplace and unobjectionable.
– Robusto
Oct 16 at 22:34
If you had ever stopped to consider this closely, you would realize that the construction sometimes is quite commonplace and unobjectionable.
– Robusto
Oct 16 at 22:34
add a comment |
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Possible duplicate of Use of “ever” in non-negated sentence. Only Tolkien seems to have broken its negative-polarity status acceptably in recent-ish years. You need 'only' before 'about 36%'. And ' ... have ever ...'.
– Edwin Ashworth
Jun 17 at 23:35