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I saw the following sentence on the internet (which was in American English)

  • I never have been angry

But would it be wrong if it was written like the following?

  • I have never been angry
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    No. Both ok, and both meaning the same. The only possible difference is that never placed first has more emphasis. But without a context it's hard to be sure here.
    – Peter Kirkpatrick
    Commented Jun 3 at 9:59

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No, it would not be wrong to write "I have never been angry." In fact, "I have never been angry" is the more commonly accepted and grammatically standard way to phrase that sentence in both British and American English.

The original sentence, "I never have been angry," while not incorrect, sounds slightly less natural and could be seen as emphasising the word "never." The more standard word order is "I have never been angry."

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  • "Never" after "have" is definitely most natural. Another emphatic alternative is "Never have I been angry".
    – Stuart F
    Commented Sep 2 at 12:19

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