Learn English – It is the first time to VERB or VERB-ing

phrase-usage

From a sentence written by a student:

It was my first time to visit China.

It sounds wrong to me, but using visiting only sounds slightly better. Which one is correct?

Best Answer

No - that doesn't sound odd at all. In fact it sounds perfectly fine to me.

More examples

  1. It was my first time to stand on a stage and give a speech.
  2. It was my first time to get to see any celebrity in person.

Note the following examples

It was my first time to ride a horse (Here i think you expressing your feeling before you actually rode the horse)

But when you say

It was my first time riding a horse (Here i think you expressing your feeling when you have ridden the horse)

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