help needed

[Unregistered]

hello,

Do we say 'She has never stolen anything in her life' or 'She never steal anything in her life'?
Which tense should we apply in the sentence or both tenses are actually acceptable?

thanks

 

[Barb_D]

'She has never stolen anything in her life' :up:

'She never stole anything in her life'?

The same difference as: I have never eaten in this restaurant and I never ate in this restaurant.

The use of the present perfect (has stolen, has eaten) says "until this point in time" - something may be changing. But they are both correct and you could use either one.

[not a teacher]

 

[istenglish]

The first sentence is correct. We use the present perfect in this case because it refers to life experience. Other tenses are possible with changes. Present simple can be used in: She never steals. -in her life is refering to something that started in the past. You could say: She never stole anything in her life. In this case, I would understand that she is no longer alive.
Hope it helps.