ever or never? and ditto

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Permalink Reply by Will Kinney on August 11, 2009 at 12:58pm

Hi Clive. "Ditto" means "likewise" or "I agree completely" or "I say the same thing". Algo como "Yo también digo (o pienso) la misma cosa exactamente como tú".

We do not say:
I've never seen something like that
I've ever seen something like that

Both are incorrect English. We say: I've never seen ANYTHING like that.

Y "I've NEVER seen anything like that."

But we can say "Have you ever seen something like that?"

I'm just guessing, but it looks like we use "ever" in questions and "never" in answers. There is probably more to it than this, but that is what I think so far.

Bendiciones,

Will K

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Permalink Reply by Cristina Lavilla on August 11, 2009 at 1:15pm

Hi!,

I can only help you about "ditto". I have just looked it up on the Internet. This link:http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=ditto

And it means:

ditto /'dɪtəʊ/ adverbio (colloq): I'm fed up — ditto! estoy harto — ¡y yo ídem de ídem! (fam)


ditto ['dɪtəʊ] nombre: ídem, lo mismo

Best wishes,

Cristina :)

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Permalink Reply by Estavan Sawyer on August 11, 2009 at 1:41pm

DITTO -- It means "the same as above or before." Ditto is indicated by the '' mark. We rarely if ever use "ditto" in formal English speaking. We never use the word "ditto" or the mark in formal written language. We use the ditto marks more in notes we are taking or lists we are making, usually for business or study purposes.
Did you notice the use of ever and never? In most nglish usage we use never in declarative sentences and ever in conditional clauses and complex sentences. For instance: She never listens to me. Will she ever listen to me? But: If I ever catch you cheating, I'll tell the teacher. Then, I hope I never catch you cheating. You will never catch me wearing that hat in public. Then, If I ever catch you wearing that hat in public I will throw it away. We probably have some English grammar whiz kids on this site who know the complex rules governing the use of ever and never. Maybe you'll hear from one or more of them. These rules work for us, though, if you don't need more minutia. Then there's a very popular axiom in English that declares, "Don't ever say never." or "Never say never." Go figure. You always have to remember this: It's English and for every English grammar rule we have at least one exception, and sometimes more.

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Permalink Reply by Susan Payer on August 13, 2009 at 12:15am

I've never seen anything like that. Is correct. (not something)

I've ever seen something like that. Is INcorrect as it stands, though you can say "I don't think I have ever seen anything like that." Or you can say "I think I have seen something like that." (but without the ever)

EVER is affirmative. Never is negative. NOT ever.


Ditto simply means "the same", and can be used as "me too."

So: Speaker one: "I had a dog when I was six."
Speaker two: "ditto". (it's shorthand)

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Permalink Reply by Estavan Sawyer on August 13, 2009 at 8:38am

Susan, thanks for the insight on "ditto." I like your reference. And it is really English shorthand. I never thought of it that way before.
Would you agree that ever might suggest a negative connotation in the sentence, "Don't you ever smoke in this house again!"? Or could you agree that never might suggest a positive connotation in the sentence, "I have never smoked or gambled in my life."? I've discovered that when I make blanket statements about English rules, someone is invariably going to come along and chew holes in it. This topic suggests, to me anyway, that when we're discussing English and its many facets, we always need to consider context.

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Permalink Reply by Ona on August 15, 2009 at 8:10am

if ditto it's shorthand, how is it in longhand or normal sepaking or in correct writing?

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Permalink Reply by Estavan Sawyer on August 15, 2009 at 9:38am

Ona, actually the word "ditto"comes from the Latin word "dictus"which means "having been said." The word went through several iterations and uses over the last few centuries to become the word we use in English today. So, there really isn't a "long hand" for ditto. The word actually stands by itself. We usually don't use the word "ditto" in English writing because we have other ways to "write" something just said.

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Permalink Reply by Ángel on August 20, 2009 at 4:06pm

I've never seen something like that// I have not ever seen something like that

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