'Had never visited' or 'never visited' before

Status
Not open for further replies.

subhajit123

Banned
Joined
May 27, 2017
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
Hi everyone, 'had never visited' or 'never visited': Which one should I use in the following sentence?

1- Last year I visited Malaysia. I had never visited/never visited malaysia before.

My problem is with the word 'before'. I think before is used with the past perfect tense. Are they both correct?
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Only the past perfect works there. "Before" refers to the time before you visited Malaysia last year.

It would be impossible to say "Last year, I visited Malaysia. I have never visited Malaysia before" because the first half says you have been to Malaysia but the second half says you have never been.
 

tedmc

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Malaysia
Current Location
Malaysia
"Had never visited" is correct.
You can say "I have never visited Malaysia before that."
I think "I never visited.." is wrong in all circumstances.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Sorry tedmc, but you can't say "I have never visited Malaysia before that". The use of "before that" at the end clearly refers to a past action so the words before it need to be in the past perfect.

I'm going to Malaysia next month. I'm really excited. I have never visited Malaysia before.
I visited Malaysia last month. It was great. I had never visited Malaysia before that.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
I'd avoid repeating 'visited Malaysia'.

'I visited Malaysia last month. I'd never been before.'

'I'm going to Malaysia next month. I've never been before.'
 

tedmc

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Malaysia
Current Location
Malaysia
Do you need a "there" after been?
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
It's optional.
 

GoesStation

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top