Present perfect: have you ever tried it? Present perfect exercises for life experiences
About this lesson
This A2 drill lesson gives present perfect exercises for life experiences: have or has + past participle, ever and never, and Have you ever…? with short answers.
- Grammar
- Have / has + past participle for experiences, regular and irregular participles (visited, been, eaten), ever in questions, never with a positive verb, short answers, and been vs gone.
- Topic
- Adventure: a new member's profile at an adventure club in Cape Town, the club's newsletter, an email and the members' page, and a chat with Nandi.
- Activities
- Sorting, choices, gap-fills, an anagram, a memory game, tables, word order, matching, quizzes, a chat and a final test, all self-checking.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
Chapter 2Past participles
- Sort the verbs: what does the past participle look like?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Choose the past participleChoose the optionTry it
- Write the past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Unscramble the past participlesAnagramUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: verb and past participleMemory gameUnlock
- Fill in the table: verb, past simple, past participleFill in the tableUnlock
Chapter 3I've never done that!
- Fill in the gaps: have / has + past participleFill in the gapsTry it
- Choose the right words: sentences with neverChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: have / has + never + past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Match the beginnings and the endingsMatchUnlock
- Read Matilda's post and fill in the gaps: present perfectFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 4Have you ever…?
- Write the questions: Have / Has … ever + past participle?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right short answerChoose the optionUnlock
- Put the words in order to make questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Match the questions and the answersMatchTry it
- Fill in the table: positive, negative, questionFill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the right question for each answerQuizUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: The adventure club
- Read Zanele's member profileReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the profile again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read the club newsletter and fill in the gaps: present perfectFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Pieter's email and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the members' page and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Nandi texts youChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose has or have: my familyChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the past participle: fun experiencesFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: past simple and past participleMemory gameUnlock
- Fill in the table: more verbsFill in the tableUnlock
- Sort the sentences: positive, negative or question?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
- Write the sentences with never: have / has + past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Match the questions and the answers: at a partyMatchUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Write the questions with ever: present perfectFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right short answer: getting to know youChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Read Anders's travel blog and fill in the gaps: present perfectFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Orla's email and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the text messages and fill in the gaps: present perfectFill in the gapsUnlock
Grammar: the present perfect for life experiences
The present perfect talks about experiences in your life up to now, when the time isn't important: I've been to Peru. It's have or has plus the past participle, with ever in questions, never for what you haven't done, and short answers with have or has.
Present perfect: have you ever…?
Talk about experiences in your life up to now: have / has + past participle. We don't say when.
Have / has + past participle
I, you, we and they take have; he, she and it take has: She has been to Japan. The time stays out of the sentence: the experience is somewhere in your life up to now.
have / has + past participle
subjecthave / haspast participle
I have ridden a camel.
She has been to Japan.
We have never eaten frog legs.
Your life up to now
- my life up to now
- I've been to Peru. When? Not important.
- I've seen a whale.
Past participles: visited, been, eaten
Regular verbs add -ed, just like the past simple: visited, climbed, tried. Irregular verbs have their own third form: be – been, see – seen, eat – eaten, do – done.
| Verb | Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| regular: visit · climb · try | visited · climbed · tried | visited · climbed · tried (like the past simple) |
| have · make · meet | had · made · met | had · made · met (like the past simple) |
| be | was / were | been |
| go | went | gone |
| see | saw | seen |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| do | did | done |
| take | took | taken |
| write | wrote | written |
| drive | drove | driven |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| fly | flew | flown |
| swim | swam | swum |
Ever in questions, never with a positive verb
Ever means at any time in your life and goes in questions: Have you ever driven a truck? Never already means not, so the verb stays positive: Tom has never flown a plane.
ever = at any time in your life (in questions)
- Have you ever driven a truck?
- Has Tom ever flown a plane?
- Not in positive sentences. Not: I've ever been there.
never = not at any time (the verb stays positive)
- I've never driven a truck.
- Tom has never flown a plane.
- never = not, so no other not. Not: I haven't never been there.
Questions and short answers
Questions start with Have or Has: Has Tom ever flown a plane? Short answers repeat only have or has: Yes, I have. No, she hasn't. And he's been to Peru means he came back; he's gone to Peru means he's still there.
Every person: + − ? and short answers
| Who | Positive (+) | Negative (−) | Question (?) | Short answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | I have seen it. · I've seen it. | I have not seen it. · I haven't seen it. | Have I seen it? | Yes, I have. · No, I haven't. |
| you | You have seen it. · You've seen it. | You have not seen it. · You haven't seen it. | Have you seen it? | Yes, you have. · No, you haven't. |
| he | He has seen it. · He's seen it. | He has not seen it. · He hasn't seen it. | Has he seen it? | Yes, he has. · No, he hasn't. |
| she | She has seen it. · She's seen it. | She has not seen it. · She hasn't seen it. | Has she seen it? | Yes, she has. · No, she hasn't. |
| it | It has snowed here. · It's snowed here. | It has not snowed here. · It hasn't snowed here. | Has it snowed here? | Yes, it has. · No, it hasn't. |
| we | We have seen it. · We've seen it. | We have not seen it. · We haven't seen it. | Have we seen it? | Yes, we have. · No, we haven't. |
| they | They have seen it. · They've seen it. | They have not seen it. · They haven't seen it. | Have they seen it? | Yes, they have. · No, they haven't. |
Short answers · been or gone?
Short answers: use have / has, not the participle: Yes, I have. No, she hasn't. (Not: Yes, I've. No, she doesn't.) been or gone? He's been to Peru = he went there and came back. He's gone to Peru = he went there, and he is there now.
Common mistakes
Watch for I have saw a whale, She have been to Peru, I've ever ridden a camel and We have never went to Asia. After have or has comes the past participle, and he or she takes has.
Common mistakes
I have saw a whale.
I have seen a whale.
have + past participle (seen), not the past simple (saw)
She have been to Peru.
She has been to Peru.
he / she / it has · I / you / we / they have
I've ever ridden a camel.
I've ridden a camel.
ever goes in questions: Have you ever…?
We have never went to Asia.
We have never been to Asia.
been, not went (been to = visited)
Examples
- Have you ever eaten snails? — Yes, I have.question and short answer
- My dad has never ridden a horse.never
- I've been to Brazil twice.how many times: once, twice, three times
- Wow! I've never done this before.before = in my life up to now
- Has Lena ever met a famous person? — No, she hasn't.Has … ever …?
- They've swum with dolphins many times.many times
More lessons on this grammar: Present perfect lessons and exercises
Try the present perfect exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 38 auto-checked exercises
- 7 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- make the present perfect with have or has: I have ridden a camel. She has been to Japan.
- use the past participle, not the past simple: I have seen a whale, not I have saw a whale
- say what you have never done with a positive verb: Tom has never flown a plane, not I haven't never been there
- ask Have you ever…? and answer briefly: Have you ever eaten snails? – Yes, I have. No, she hasn't.
- Grammar:
- present perfect · have / has + past participle · ever / never · past participles · short answers
- Topic:
- grammar practice · experiences · adventure · travel
Teaching tips
- Start with a quick class survey: each student asks three classmates Have you ever…? about a camel ride, snails or a trip abroad, then reports one answer: Lena has never eaten snails.
- Check the third form before the gap: write a verb's three forms on the board (see – saw – seen) and let students point at the participle before they write.
- Turn the chat into speaking: after students answer Nandi's messages alone, pairs play it again aloud and swap the replies for their own true answers.
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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · A2
English Grammar Practice · A2 has 28 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the past simple and continuous, used to, comparatives, going to and will, the present perfect, modals, the zero and first conditionals and questions. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course
- 1Past simple with -ed: moving day!
- 2Past simple irregular verbs: we went, we saw, we bought
- 3Past simple negatives and questions: where did the cake go?
- 4Past continuous: what were you doing at 9 p.m.?
- 5Past simple or past continuous: what were you doing when it happened?
- 6Used to: how things were back then
- 7Comparatives: which one is better?
- 8Superlatives: the best in town
- 9As … as, too, enough: is it the right size?
- 10Adverbs of manner: how did she drive?
- 11Much, many, a few, a little: how much do we need?
- 12Possessive pronouns: whose is it?
- 13Be going to: what's your plan?
- 14Will: what will the future bring?
- 15Present continuous for plans: what are you doing tonight?
- 16Will vs going to: decided before or right now?
- 17Present perfect: have you ever tried it?
- 18Just, already, yet: have you done it yet?
- 19For and since: how long have you known her?
- 20Present perfect or past simple: up to now or finished time?
- 21Must and have to: what are the rules?
- 22Should: what should I do?
- 23Can, could, may: could you help me, please?
- 24Verb + to or -ing: what do you enjoy doing?
- 25Zero conditional: what happens if…?
- 26First conditional: what will you do if it rains?
- 27Articles: a, the or no article?
- 28Subject and object questions: who won the quiz?