I went to the shrine before

[hirashin]

Hello, native English speakers,

I have a question about the usage of the adverb "before".

Would all the sentences be used?
A) I have been to the shrine before.
B) I have visited the shrine before.
C) I went to the shrine before.
D) I visited the shrine before.

Hirashin

 

[mdchachi]

I think these are all acceptable.

 

[musicisgood]

I wonder if you want to use "this" instead of "the" in your sentence.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks, mdchachi and musicisgood. Would using "this" instead of "the" make more sense?

 

[OoTmaster]

Using "this" instead of "the" would make the sentence more specific. If you had gone to a shrine and you wanted to mean that particular shrine you would use this. For an example, "I went to the store" means that you went to a store not any in particular. "Have you been to this store before?" means you have mentioned a particular store and mean that store.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks, OoTmaster.