- It's the first time I've seen him that happy.
- It's the first time I see him that happy.
Are these two sentences correct? If they are, what's the difference between them?
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Both are correct sentences.– Ram PillaiCommented Aug 9, 2020 at 15:31
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1 Answer
Neither sound correct to me, due to tense.
To me, the two idiomatic phrases would be:
Present tense, while you are in the person’s presence:
It’s the first time I’ve seen him this happy.
Past tense:
It was the first time I’d seen him that happy.
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2The only difference between your first suggestion and the OP's first suggestion is this happy vs. that happy, respectively. Both are completely fine. "This happy" is more appropriate if the person's happiness is also perceptible to the listener at the present time (e.g., when they are all in the same room); otherwise "that" probably makes more sense.– TypeIACommented Jul 8, 2020 at 11:58
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I agree that the OP's second suggestion sounds unnatural, although it is in fact completely grammatical and one can imagine a contrived scenario where it works, such as two actors discussing scenes in a play: "Act III is the first time I see him that happy."– TypeIACommented Jul 8, 2020 at 12:01
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Imagine I am driving a car and my friend is in the car. What is the correct saying: "It's the first time I am driving a car" or "It's the first time I drive a car"?– VovaCommented Jul 8, 2020 at 12:27
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1More natural in my opinion would be "this is my first time driving a car."– TypeIACommented Jul 8, 2020 at 15:21
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2I’m reality, I’d either use “this is the first time I’ve driven a car” or “this is my first time driving a car”. Commented Jul 8, 2020 at 15:43