tense in the independent clause

for the following independent clause, what tense is grammatically correct to use, the past tense or present perfect tense? i’ve personally been using the past tense but i’ve seen both cases. now i’m confused.
it’s been a while since i saw him.
it’s been a while since i’ve seen him.
could anybody help me on this please?
many thanks,
bamboo

[Belly T]

The first sentence is correct. But you have to put the word "last" into it.

It's been a while since I last saw him.

It's more grammactical
The second is not, you can't use the tense like that.

[Humble]

Hi,
I agree with Belly, but still the other usage is rather common.

[Andrew Whitehead]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

for the following independent clause, what tense is grammatically correct to use, the past tense or present perfect tense? i’ve personally been using the past tense but i’ve seen both cases. now i’m confused.
it’s been a while since i saw him.
it’s been a while since i’ve seen him.
could anybody help me on this please?
many thanks,
bamboo

It depends on your circumstances.

The first sentence is correct if there is no chance of seeing him again, the second sentence is correct if he is still around somewhere and you expect to see him.

In simple terms, use past simple if the matter is finished

"Charles Dickens wrote a lot of books" - he won't write any more because he is dead.


Use present perfect if the matter is unfinished, current, or has current effects.

"Dan Brown has written a lot of books" - he is still alive and could write some more.