Becoming the first woman ever to... sounds correct?

Question

Hello I'm writing a composition and I was wondering if this sounds correct:

Becoming the first woman to ever be a member of...

or

Becoming the first ever woman to be a member of..

Or should I simply eliminate the 'ever'? Because it doesn't sound correct to me. :/

Answer 1

Both sound very natural, although "Becoming the first ever woman to be a member of.." sounds more emphatic. Either would work though.

It would still be fine if you dropped the "Ever", but it wouldn't sound quite as dramatic.

Your English is excellent! Great work!

Gracias :) - matias-v, Jan 8, 2015

Good answer .. ditto .. - Joydeep_Singh, Jan 8, 2015

Answer 2

A third choice is "Becoming the first woman ever to be a member." And a fourth and fifth choice: "the first woman ever to become/to ever become a member."

Answer 3

If your composition is to be presented in written form, you should be aware that in the construction "first-ever woman," "first-ever" should be hyphenated as shown.