What does “ever” mean?
- 1
adverbat any time, used mostly in questions and negative sentences
Have you ever been to Japan?
- 2
adverbused with comparisons to mean “at any time before”
This is the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.
Ever at a glance
- Part of speech
- adverb
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈɛvər/ · EV-er
How to use “ever” correctly
Use “ever” with the present perfect to ask about life experience: “Have you ever tried sushi?” Answer with “never” rather than “not ever”.
Common phrases with “ever”
- have you ever
- than ever
- ever since
- forever
“ever” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- already adverbA2before now, or earlier than expected
- finally adverbA2after a long time or a lot of waiting
- once adverbA2one time only
- recently adverbA2not long ago
- still adverbA2continuing until now and not finished
- suddenly adverbA2quickly and without warning
- yet adverbA2until now; used in questions and negatives
- again adverbA1one more time; another time