[General] The prettiest thing I ever see/I ever saw/I've ever seen..Which is correct?

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Hugo_Lin

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Hi, English teachers:

Which of the following is correct?

It's the prettiest thing I ever see.

It's the prettiest thing I ever saw.

It's the prettiest thing I've ever seen.

I vaguely remember that superlatives are to be followed by present/past perfect tens, present or past depending on the tense of the main clause?

I might be wrong though. Would love to have a professional answer. Many thanks in advance.

Plus, if you as a native speaker are not familiar with grammar, please just tell my which one you feel most natural. Thank you.:)


Hugo.
 

emsr2d2

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Hi, English teachers:

Which of the following is correct?

It's the prettiest thing I ever see. :cross:

It's the prettiest thing I ever saw. :tick: (More common in AmE)

It's the prettiest thing I've ever seen. :tick: (The best choice in BrE)


I vaguely remember that superlatives are to be followed by present/past perfect tense, present or past depending on the tense of the main clause?

I might be wrong though. Would love to have a professional answer. Many thanks in advance.

Plus, if you as a native speaker are not familiar with grammar, please just tell my which one you feel most natural. Thank you.:)


Hugo.

See above.
 

BobK

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:up: The first one is sometimes heard dialectally, as a form of '...I ever seed' or '...I ever did see'. But it's not common, and it's not standard English.

b
 
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