NEVER


Meaning of NEVER in English

adverb

1

BAD : I asked him to never arrive late.

GOOD : I asked him never to arrive late.

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Never and not usually go immediately in front of a to infinitive: 'He's promised never to do it again.'

2

BAD : You never can get really good beef in our local supermarket.

GOOD : You can never get really good beef in our local supermarket.

3

BAD : My father did never have the opportunity to go to university.

GOOD : My father never had the opportunity to go to university.

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Do is often used with not to make negative statements: 'I didn't answer the letter.' 'She doesn't invite strangers.' However, do is NOT used in this way with never : 'I never answered the letter.' 'She never invites strangers.'

The exception to this rule is when do is used for emphasis: 'You never did tell me why you decided to leave your last job.'

4

BAD : She said some of the rudest things I have never heard in all my life.

GOOD : She said some of the rudest things I have ever heard in all my life.

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never = at no time: 'I've never met his wife.' 'I had never met his wife before yesterday.'

ever = at any time: 'Have you ever met his wife?'

Note that ever is often used after a superlative: 'His wife is the kindest person I've ever met.'

5

BAD : 'Nobody will never find me,' he thought.

GOOD : 'Nobody will ever find me,' he thought.

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After nobody/nothing/rarely and other words with a negative meaning, use ever (NOT never ): 'After she won the national lottery, nothing was ever the same again.'

6

BAD : Never I had seen such an ugly face.

GOOD : Never had I seen such an ugly face.

Longman Common Errors English vocabulary.      Английский словарь распространенных ошибок Longman.