I have been reading threads on this site, but I still have one question:
Is it possible to say:
I didn't like travelling ever since I came back from Paris (for example)?
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No. You need to use the present perfect tense here: "I haven't liked".– Billy KerrCommented Jul 2, 2022 at 9:13
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...or more awkwardly "I didn't like travelling ever since I had come back from Paris". The example you give would commonly be reckoned incorrect, but I imagine you might hear similar things sometimes.– Stuart FCommented Mar 18 at 19:47
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2 Answers
ever since = from some point in time to the present OR to some other point in time in the past.
I don't like traveling ever since I came back from X.
OR
I haven't liked traveling ever since I came back from X.
- I didn't like traveling after I came back from X.
ever since can go with the present or present perfect as they are both tied to the present. It cannot go with the simple past.
OR I hadn't like traveling ever since I had come back from X.
In this example (not usual), it's ok since it refers to a point in time in the past.
Didn't implies something that has ended, in this case traveling. But ever since implies something that is still continuing. The two implications are contradictory, and so it feels awkward.
"I haven't liked traveling ever since I came back from Paris" - good.
"I didn't like traveling after I came back from Paris, but then I went to watch the eclipse in Brazil with Jane, and now I like it again." - good.
