Can you help me to check which ones are correct?
The first time I saw him vs The first time I 've seen him
and
This is the first time I have seen him vs That was the the first time I had seen him
Thank you in advance
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1These are all correct, although the first two aren't complete sentences, but they're different tenses and would be used in different contexts. – Billy Kerr Apr 14 '23 at 23:53
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4Does this answer your question? Canonical Post #2: What is the perfect, and how should I use it? – FumbleFingers Apr 15 '23 at 02:12
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The first time I saw him vs The first time I 've seen him
Both are grammatical, but the meaning is slightly different.
"The first time I saw him" indicates just an event in the past. "The first time I 've seen him" also indicates an event in the past, but the speaker also emphasizes that it is somehow important in the present. E.g., that was the first time ever, or "seeing him" was important as an achievement etc.
This is the first time I have seen him vs That was the the first time I had seen him
These have similar meaning but this is Present Perfect vs Past Perfect. Past Perfect indicates an event preceding an event in the past. Past Perfect can also appear as a result of "tenses coordination" where the reference point is in the past itself or the sentence is conditional or subjunctive.
We have several explainers and practice tests on all the mentioned topics here.
GrammarErrorCom
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It's a long time since you kindly answered my question.. Now I have a clearer idea of the difference. Thank you so much and excuse me for the delay but I'm not very practical with the site, so I didn't read your message :) – Tania Feb 08 '24 at 11:38