Timeline for What does "ever" mean?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2017 at 9:46 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackEnglishLL/status/876013275225493504 | ||
| May 28, 2017 at 19:29 | history | bumped | CommunityBot | This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed. | |
| Apr 28, 2017 at 17:58 | answer | added | Khan | timeline score: 2 | |
| Apr 28, 2017 at 13:56 | history | bumped | CommunityBot | This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed. | |
| Mar 26, 2017 at 4:57 | answer | added | encoder | timeline score: 1 | |
| Mar 18, 2017 at 16:04 | history | migrated | from english.stackexchange.com (revisions) | ||
| Mar 18, 2017 at 15:04 | comment | added | John Lawler | Ever is the suppletive word that English uses instead of the nonexistent *anywhen. As an adverb with comparatives and superlatives (both of which are negative environments, which is good because ever is a Negative Polarity Item), it means at any time; this occurs in many idioms and compounds, like forever, (for) ever and ever, (for) ever after, 'infinite in time'. | |
| Mar 18, 2017 at 14:32 | comment | added | MDHunter | It's roughly synonymous with "of all time." So "last ever" is "last one of all time" i.e., the final one; something that will never happen again. "First ever" is "first of all time" i.e., the first one; something that had never happened before. As noted above, it operates like the intensifier "very," so it could become "...announced its very first fall in profits." | |
| Mar 18, 2017 at 14:29 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | It's even used in a childrens register in the expression 'never ever'. (Childrens associative rather than possessive.) | |
| Mar 18, 2017 at 14:06 | comment | added | mahmud k pukayoor | 'Ever' can act as an intensifier meaning 'very', 'very much' etc. | |
| Mar 18, 2017 at 13:58 | comment | added | jejorda2 | Like your link says, in these cases "ever" emphasizes the adverb "first" or "last." | |
| Mar 18, 2017 at 13:40 | history | asked | user17969 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |