I have seen a bear in the forest before.

[Alice Chu]

When the adverb “before” refers to an indefinite point in the past, it can be used with the simple past and the present perfect.
Please tell me the difference between the two sentences below.

1. I saw a bear in the forest before.
2. I have seen a bear in the forest before.

 

[emsr2d2]

The main difference for me is that I would never use sentence 1.

 

[Yankee]

No difference.

 

[5jj]

The main difference for me is that I would never use sentence 1.

I agree.

 

[Tarheel]

Alice Chu: I have seen a bear in the forest before.
Tarheel: Before when?
Alice Chu: Before now.
Tarheel: OK. That's a grammatical sentence, but it seems unlikely you would hear that in a conversation.
Alice Chu: OK. Would you provide me with a brief conversation that's more natural?
Tarheel: Sure. (See below.)

Ben: I saw a bear once.
Jerry: Ooh, were you scared?
Ben: No, it was pretty far away.
Jerry: Did it see you?
Ben: I don't think so, but I can't be sure.
Jerry: Was it a male or a female?
Ben: A female. It had a couple of cubs with it.
Jerry: It's a good thing it didn't see you then. They're very protective of their cubs.
Ben: Well, I had my shotgun with me just in case.
Jerry: In case of what?
Ben: Bears of course!
Jerry: OK.

 

[jutfrank]

I think you may be asking about the use of the word before in the sense of 'ever in my life', with present perfect sentences (not past simple), in negative (and sometimes interrogative) form to talk about novel experiences:

Oh, how odd! I've never seen a bear wearing a miniskirt before.

 

[probus]

This is a point we have covered at least once before. I agree with the BrE speakers in that only 2 is grammatically correct. But I also agree with Yankee in that 1 is just as common as 2 in casual AmE.