i have not seen it before vs i had not seen it before

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'I have not seen it before' is used to express that you have not seen something up to the present moment. 'I had not seen it before' is used to express that you had not seen something at a specific point in the past.

Last updated: March 20, 2024

i have not seen it before

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express that you have not seen something up to the present moment.

This phrase is used to talk about something that you have not seen or experienced up to the current time.

Examples:

I have not seen this movie before.
She has not seen that painting before.
They have not seen this kind of technology before.

Show examples from the web [+]

Dec 13, 2014 ... B: "Yeah, I had not seen it before". I think B should have said: "I have not seen it before" but I don't know why. Am I right? If so, why? past-perfect ...
On seeing a face I am aware that I have seen it before, or that I have not seen it before. On hearing a fact told I am aware that I knew it already. You say the first ...
... the vivid description based on actual historical events and persons. It makes a dreary enumeration of battles and lists come alive, as I have not seen it before.
Nov 17, 2015 ... As for the string of alphanumeric, I have not seen it before in my error logs and it is not written in my code as provided. specialized FitSenseAPI.

Alternatives:

I haven't seen it before
I've never seen it before

i had not seen it before

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express that you had not seen something at a specific point in the past.

This phrase is used to talk about something that you had not seen or experienced at a particular time in the past.

Examples:

I had not seen this movie before I watched it last night.
She had not seen that painting before she visited the museum.
They had not seen this kind of technology before they attended the conference.

Show examples from the web [+]

Dec 13, 2014 ... B: "Yeah, I had not seen it before". I think B should have said: "I have not seen it before" but I don't know why. Am I right? If so, why? past-perfect ...
I had not seen it before, and I re-arranged my desk this very day - this very afternoon; the tract must have been introduced within the last hour, while we were at ...
With my camera, I explored various spaces and as I photographed beauty surfaced where I had not seen it before. This image speaks to my need to discover ...
I had not seen it before and loved the message, performances and music. I particularly enjoyed the Christmas song sang by Gale Storm while playing the piano, ...

Alternatives:

I hadn't seen it before
I had never seen it before

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i have not seen it before vs i had not seen it before