ever
adv. timeadv. at any time. You use it to ask if something has happened even once in the past or if it will happen in the future.
adv. at any time; used primarily in interrogative, negative, and conditional contexts to refer to an indefinite point in time.
Have you ever been to London?
If you ever decide to visit our city, please let me know so we can meet for coffee.
Few scholars believe that the lost manuscript will ever be recovered, given the extensive damage the library sustained during the fire.
From Middle English ever, from Old English ǣfre, originally a phrase whose first element undoubtedly consists of Old English ā (“ever, always”) + in (“in”) + an element possibly from feorh (“life, existence”) (dative fēore). Compare Old English ā tō fēore (“ever in life”), Old English feorhlīf (“life”). Sense 5 of the adverb was likely formed by association with never, which also carries the meaning of did not in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English. Also, compare Chinese 有 … 過 /有 … 过 (yǒu ... guò / jau⁵ ... gwo³, “has […] before”).
Typically placed before the main verb in questions or after the first auxiliary verb.
I have ever seen that movie.I have seen that movie before.In positive statements, 'ever' is not used to mean 'at some time in the past'; use 'before' or 'once' instead.