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Suppose that it is my first time visiting Italy, which is correct or what is the difference in saying:

I never visited Italy before

I had never visited Italy or I had never visited Italy until now

I mainly mean past perfect vs. past in this case.

Can I say:

I have never visited Italy

While I am currently in Italy?

If I visited Italy last year, can I say:

I never visited Italy until I visited there last year? (or last year)

If yes, what is the difference in saying:

I had never visited Italy until last year

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"I have never visited Italy before" and "I never visited Italy before" both seem fine but if you are visiting a place (Italy) for a first time and you are currently there then could simply say:

This is my first time visiting Italy.

Or

This is the first time I have visited Italy.

Or

This is the first time I am visiting Italy.

"I had never visited Italy until now" sounds off because here you are using Past participle and now (present) at the same time. It would be appropriate in a situation for example:

I had never visited Italy until last year

However you could say:

I have never visited Italy until this week

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  • Thank you, what if I just say "I had never visited Italy" while I am there? By the way I modified my question and added some extra question to it.
    – Ahmad
    Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 12:55
  • You could say that but "had" expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. So it wouldn't look natural in your case. Take a look at this page about Past Perfect tense.
    – user6200
    Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 13:00
  • Yes, but we can imagine that it is two weeks that I am in Italy and actually I have visited there, then had visited refers to a period before these two weeks?
    – Ahmad
    Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 13:05
  • Yes then it would mean before these two weeks. But note that in English we generally keep our sentences simple and Past Perfect is avoided when other good alternatives are possible.
    – user6200
    Commented Jul 30, 2015 at 13:10

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