"Never came across" or "have never come across"?

[BigMak]

Which of the following sentence is correct. If both are correct, is there any difference in meaning?

I have never come across such a big snake in my life.


I never came across such a big snake in my life.

 

[bhaisahab]

The first one is correct. The second one is only possible if your life is over.

 

[Matthew Wai]

When the life is not yet over, will the second one be possible if "past" is added before "life"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Only some people believe in past lives.

 

[BigMak]

Thanks bhaisahab for your explanation. And nice name!

 

[seanlim]

Hi There,
I don't know if i could ask question in others thread, if i could may i know the difference between if the second sentence is correct:

1. I have never come across such a big snake in my life.
2. I had never come across such a big snake in my life.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think the past perfect should not be used here because it applies to a "Completed Action Before Something in the Past"── quoted from http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastperfect.html

Not a teacher.

 

[Barb_D]

In the context of telling a story about something that happened in the past, the past perfect is right. As a stand-alone sentence, the past perfect does not work.