Expression: "She told me she had come here many years ago."

[Tom]

Hi

Could you please tell me which of the following sentences is better?

[lost_soul]

[Mister Micawber]

.
Both are fine.

adverb: earlier in time; previously (Example: "I had known her before")
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[edison_chen_e_c]

Yep however there's a little difference between the two:

ago: counting back from now
before: counting back from now or PAST

<cf>:
I went to the States many years ago.
I went to the States before.
I told her I had gone to the States before.

[storm]

Doesn't this seem to be thing that happened in the past or not?
I would prefer:
She told me she came here many years ago.

I also have heard some sentences as follows too,
1. They arrived a while back.
2. They arrived a while ago.
_________________
There are always things I have to learn.

[lost_soul]

[Mister Micawber]

.
No, you are not, LS. Past perfect is called for only if the sequence of past events is unclear or needs to be stressed.
.
_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[edison_chen_e_c]

She told me she had come here before.