Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard of Lewis Armstrong? Do
you ever listen to jazz? Among all jazz musicians, Lewis Armstrong has probably
the most unique voice ever. I'm sure if you listen to his music you'll
be ever so happy. Let's discuss Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming
to you from New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here from
Happy English and I help people speak English better. And this is Happy English
Podcast Episode seven sixteen. Using ever, the adverb ever means at any time,
and that could mean at any time in the past or at any time
in the future. For today's English lesson, let's look at all the different
ways we use this versatile little word. We use ever in questions, negative
sentences, and comparisons. Let's look at questions first. When we use ever
in questions to ask someone about their experience, we use the present perfect tense.
For example, have you ever heard of Lewis Armstrong? Have they ever
been to Times Square? Has he ever tried ziplining? Keep in mind when
answering this kind of question and the answer is no, you can use never,
which means not ever. Have you ever heard of Lewis Armstrong? No,
I've never heard of him before. But when answering this kind of question
and the answer is yes, don't use ever. Have you ever heard of
Lewis Armstrong? Yes? I have heard of him, He's a famous musician.
Not yes, I have ever heard of him. We can also use
ever when we ask questions about the past, present, or future. The
rules for answering these questions are the same as I just mentioned. Here are
some examples. The last time we met, you told me you lost your
wallet. Did you ever find it? No? I never found it.
Did you ever find out what happened to your old coworker Tommy? Yeah?
I did. I heard he started his own business. You eat a banana
and yogurt for breakfast every morning? Do you ever get tired of it?
Not at all? I love it. Do you ever wonder if there are
aliens out there? Oh? Yeah, all the time. So you had
eye surgery? Will you ever need to wear glasses again? I don't think
so. Do you think the boss will ever give us a raise? I
think he never will. Next, let's look at some negative sentences using ever.
Nobody in my office has ever gotten a bonus. Neither of us has
ever gone scuba diving. Nowhere will ever be as exciting as that amusement park.
Of course, we can also use never to make negative sentences like this,
The company has never given anyone in my office a bonus. We have
never gone scuba diving. I have never been to such an exciting amusement park.
We also use ever in comparative sentences. Here are some examples of that.
Jimmy's grandfather is ninety four years old, but he is stronger than ever.
This past winter was than ever. Thanks for recommending that pizza shop.
That was the best pizza ever. That was the most exciting amusement park ever.
And finally, we use ever with only, and the grammar pattern is
only followed by a noun followed by ever. For example, Jack is the
only guy ever to have lunch with the CEO. My sister is the only
person ever in my family to meet a famous movie star. Keep in mind,
the best way to remember this and any other word or phrase in English
is to take that word or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true
for you or true in your world, and then memorize your sentences By the
way, can you imagine getting the chance to practice this kind of English with
me directly? Hey, you can get more practice using your English when you
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English podcast in the past and in the future. And on top of that,
each episode has exercises where you can practice this English point with speaking and
writing checked by me. To learn more or to see some of the example
sentences from this lesson, just visit Myhappy English dot com and choose podcast lesson
seven sixteen. Remember, learning another language is not easy, but it's not
impossible, and I'm here to help you on your journey. If body as
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