Skip to main content

grammar - "I have been there first time": Does this sentence sound awkward?



I have been there first time.



The reason why I think this might not be natural is that the expression "first time" seems to describe "past". You do not use the present perfect with an adverb indicating "past", in my understanding.


However, I feel the phrase below is not that funny.



This is the first time that I have been there.



I am wondering about the relationship between "the first time" and "I have been there". "That" could behave like a relative adverb. If that is the case, the antecedent of "that"—"the first time"—is shared with the following clause: "I have been there". Then, is it OK to say "I have been there first time"?


By the way, Google searches for "I have been there first time" and I have been there the first time" in the UK domain show just 33 hits for the first phrase and 10 hits for the second.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.