je n'étais jamais

I had never

→ je

phrase Uncommon #16,036

I had never Used with a past participle to say that something had never happened before a past moment. The related expression « je ne suis jamais allé » means “I have never been” or “I never went.”

FR: Je n'étais jamais allé dans ce restaurant auparavant.

EN: I had never been to that restaurant before.

C'est comme si je n'étais jamais parti.

It's as if I had never left.

— The Big Sick (2017)

Je n'étais jamais venue dans cette partie du château.

I had never been to this part of the castle before.

— Harry Potter et le Prince de sang-mêlé (2009)

Je n'étais jamais retourné au bar.

I had never gone back to the bar.

— Les Anges déchus (1995)

Je me suis dit que je n'étais jamais entré par ta fenêtre.

I thought to myself that I had never come in through your window.

— Scream 7 (2026)

Je n'étais jamais venue ici.

I had never been here.

— Your Name. (2016)

Je n'étais jamais venu en Roumanie.

I had never been to Romania before.

— Toni Erdmann (2016)

Je n'étais jamais venu ici.

I had never been here.

— Manon des sources (1986)