I'm very confused about tenses. I have examples in two different situations here.
Situation 1: I went to New York two months ago and was talking to someone about it.
A. This is the first time I've been to New York.
B. That was the first time I'd been to New York.
Which is correct in a daily conversation?
Situation 2: I'm going to New York next month and talking to someone.
A. This will be the first time I've been to New York.
B. This is the first time I've been to New York.
C. This will be the first time I go to New York.
Which sentence is appropriate?
According to a grammar article I've read before, I think it says that I can use this sentence in both cases:
This is the first time I've been to New York.
But I'm not sure if this is really so. So I'd like to know which tense I should use in each case. Could you explain it?
Best Answer
In situation 1, which version you select (they're both grammatically correct) depends on the tense in which you're telling the story. If you're telling the story in the present tense ("So I'm walking along the street..."), you would use option A to match, while if you're telling it in the past tense ("So I was walking along the street..."), you'd use option B.
In situation 2, you'll generally want either A or C.
The essence of the grammar article was probably that in English, it's possible to discuss either past events or hypothetical future events in the present tense, as if you were placing yourself in the time and narrating from that perspective. In this case, you'd use the present-tense "first time I've been", but it's much more common to narrate this way when relating past events than when talking about future plans.