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Have you ever seen the sky dance? The present perfect for experiences

This A2 ESL lesson plan teaches the present perfect for experiences under the northern lights in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Grammar
The present perfect, have or has + past participle (I've seen snow.), with ever in Have you ever…? questions, never in statements, been to + a place and short answers such as No, I haven't.
Topic
A winter night in Fairbanks, Alaska, a great place for the northern lights from about August 21 to April 21, with words such as glow, layer, mittens and cheechako.
Activities
A newcomer's post to read, a night-time dialogue and a viewer's voice message to hear, self-checking drills, a live chat, and a wheel and boxes of questions.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Welcome to Alaska!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: a night in AlaskaVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: meet Maya!

    • Look at the photo: a winter night near FairbanksPictureUnlock
    • Read Maya's first postReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: the sky is dancing!

    • Listen to Maya and MarcoListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Viewer's QuestionListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Have you ever…?

    • Study the scheme: Have you ever…?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: write the past participleFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: have / has + past participleFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: ask me anything!

    • Choose the right replies: ask Maya anything!ChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: have you ever…?Open the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the words from the lessonFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: have / has + never or everFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Maya's message to her momChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Marco's postDrag and dropUnlock

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Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • layer
  • wool
  • mittens
  • thermos
  • tripod
  • sculptor
  • cheechako

Grammar: the present perfect for experiences

The present perfect tense talks about life experiences without saying when: I've seen snow. I've never been to Alaska. Under the northern lights, learners build have or has + past participle, ask Have you ever…?, answer with never or a short answer, and use been to for places they have visited.

Have you ever seen the northern lights?

Life experiences: have / has + past participle. ever in questions, never in sentences.

Have or has + past participle

He, she and it take has; every other person takes have: She has seen the lights. We have heard a wolf. In speech, the short forms I've, she's and haven't are usual. Never goes between the two parts: He has never slept in a cabin.

Every person

Who✅ Yes❌ never
II have seen snow. (I've seen)I have never been to Alaska. (I've never been)
youYou have tried ice skating. (You've tried)You have never flown at night.
he, she, itShe has seen the lights. (She's seen)He has never slept in a cabin. It has never snowed here.
weWe have heard a wolf. (We've heard)We have never eaten a snowball.
theyThey have been to Florida. (They've been)They have never done a winter sport.

Short forms

  • I have = I've
  • you have = you've
  • he has = he's
  • she has = she's
  • it has = it's
  • we have = we've
  • they have = they've
  • have not = haven't
  • has not = hasn't

Have you ever…? Yes, I have.

A question puts have or has first and ever before the participle: Have you ever seen the northern lights? Has she ever been to Alaska? A short answer repeats only the helper verb: Yes, I have. No, she hasn't.

QuestionYesNo
Have you ever seen the northern lights?Yes, I have.No, I haven't.
Has she ever been to Alaska?Yes, she has.No, she hasn't.
Have they ever tried ice skating?Yes, they have.No, they haven't.

Past participles: seen, flown, glowed

Regular verbs add -ed, as in the past simple: glowed, appeared, tried. Many irregular verbs have a third form of their own, so learn each participle with its verb: see, seen; fly, flown; eat, eaten. Others match the past simple: slept, heard, felt.

VerbPast participleExample
bebeenI've been to Alaska.
seeseenHave you ever seen snow?
dodoneI've never done a winter sport.
eateatenHave you ever eaten a snowball?
flyflownShe has never flown at night.
feelfeltHave you ever felt snow on your face?
taketakenI've never taken a photo of the lights.
hearheardHave you ever heard a wolf?
sleepsleptWe've never slept in a cabin.
trytried (regular: -y → -ied)Have you ever tried ice skating?
glowglowed (regular: + -ed)Has the sky ever glowed green?
appearappeared (regular: + -ed)Maya has never appeared on TV.

Ever in questions, never in statements

Ever means at any time in your life and goes in questions: Have you ever seen snow? Never means not ever: I've never seen snow, not I've ever seen snow. Because never is already negative, it doesn't take not too: I haven't never is wrong.

ever and never

ever = at any time in your life. Use it in questions: Have you ever seen snow? never = not ever. Use it in sentences: I've never seen snow. (Not: I've ever seen snow.) never is a negative word, so don't add not: I've never seen snow. (Not: I haven't never seen snow.)

Been to for a visit

For a place you visited and left, use been to: I've been to Alaska. Maya has been to six states. Has she ever been to Florida? For a visit, say been to, not been in.

been to

For a visit (you went there and came back), say been to + a place: I've been to Alaska. Has she ever been to Florida? (Not: I've been in Alaska.)

In Fairbanks

  • Have you ever seen the northern lights? – No, I haven't.
  • Maya has been to six states.
  • Marco has never been this cold!
  • Has Biscuit ever seen the lights? – No, he hasn't.
  • We've never slept in a cabin before.
  • Vera has never seen snow.

Common mistakes

  • I have never see snow.

    I have never seen snow.

    after have / has: the past participle (seen), not see or saw

  • Did you ever seen snow?

    Have you ever seen snow?

    life experience: Have you ever + past participle

  • She have seen the lights.

    She has seen the lights.

    he, she, it: has

  • I've ever been to Alaska.

    I've never been to Alaska.

    ever in questions, never in sentences

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.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • ask about life experiences with Have you ever…?: Have you ever seen the northern lights?
  • answer with short answers and never: No, I haven't. I've never been to Alaska.
  • form the past participle of common verbs: seen, eaten, flown, slept, glowed
  • use has with he, she and it, and been to for a visit: She has been to Florida.

Lesson 1 opens Wonders of nature, the first unit of English A2.2 · Curious Minds. It builds on the past simple of A2.1, regular -ed verbs in lesson 1 and irregular forms such as drove and took in lesson 2, and adds a third form, the past participle. Lesson 2 sets the new tense against the past simple, and lesson 3 joins it to superlatives: the longest cave I've ever seen. Waiting for the northern lights turns Have you ever seen…? into a real question.

A wheel of questions about cold weather, snow and the night sky opens the lesson, and ten word cards with pictures and audio run from glow and appear to cheechako, Alaska's word for a newcomer. Students read Maya's first post from Fairbanks, then hear Maya and Marco wait for the lights at almost 11 p.m. (an AI-voiced dialogue) and a viewer's voice message from Florida. The scheme opens the grammar chapter, followed by four self-checking drills, including a table of have been and have never seen for every person. To speak, students trade questions with Maya in a live chat, then open boxes such as Say three things you have never done.

All nine homework exercises check themselves: a word match, an anagram, a gap-fill with the new words, two drills on the forms, sentences to unjumble, a short-answer quiz, Maya's message to her mom with forms to choose and Marco's post with words to drag in.

Grammar:
present perfect for experiences · Have you ever…? · ever / never · been to · past participles · short answers
Topic:
Fairbanks, Alaska · northern lights · cheechako and sourdough · dressing in layers · World Ice Art Championships · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Open with a find-someone-who hunt: students walk around asking Have you ever seen snow? or Have you ever flown at night? and note one classmate's name for each Yes, I have.
  • Ask what students know about the northern lights before the post: when can you see them, and what kind of sky do you need? The post answers both, down to the best hours of the night.
  • Line up verbs and participles on the board before the gap-fill: see, seen; eat, eaten; fly, flown. Then cover one column and let the class call out the other.
  • Finish with partner reports: after the open boxes, each student tells the class one thing about a partner, such as Ana has slept in a tent, but she has never flown on a plane.

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The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1 · you're hereHave you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7Turn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8The girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11What's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17Why did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23A class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27Sailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

What is the present perfect?
The present perfect is have or has plus a past participle, a tense for past events that still matter now. One everyday use is life experience with no time given: I've seen snow. She has never flown at night. With a finished time, such as last March, English switches to the past simple. The A2 lesson Have you ever seen the sky dance? on edio.ai introduces the tense through experiences.
How do you form the present perfect tense?
The present perfect tense is have or has followed by the verb's third form: I have seen, she has seen, they have seen. Only he, she and it take has. Speech mostly uses short forms (I've, she's, haven't, hasn't), and questions swap the order: Has she seen the lights? Regular participles end in -ed, like glowed; irregular ones are learned one by one: flown, eaten, slept.
How do you use "Have you ever…?" in English?
Use Have you ever + past participle to ask whether something has happened in someone's life: Have you ever seen the northern lights? Have you ever tried ice skating? With he, she or it, start with Has: Has your brother ever flown on a plane? The reply needs only the helper verb, Yes, I have or No, I haven't, and a detail can follow.
What are good "Have you ever…?" questions?
Good Have you ever…? questions ask about everyday experiences that anyone can answer: Have you ever seen snow? Have you ever flown on a plane? Have you ever slept in a tent? Each Yes, I have invites a follow-up in the past simple, such as Where was it? The open boxes in Have you ever seen the sky dance? on edio.ai use questions like these.
When do you use ever and never?
Use ever in questions and never in negative statements: Have you ever seen snow? I've never seen snow. Ever means at any time in your life; never means at no time. Since never is already negative, I haven't never been there is wrong, and a plain positive sentence takes neither: I've been to Alaska, not I've ever been to Alaska. After a superlative, though, ever is right: the best trip I've ever taken.
How do you use the present perfect for experiences?
Use the present perfect for anything in your life so far, without saying when: I've held a snake. I've been to six states. She has never seen snow. Once you add a time or the story, switch to the past simple: I saw the northern lights last March. In the A2 lesson Have you ever seen the sky dance? on edio.ai, students read a newcomer's post full of these sentences.
Is it "Have you ever saw" or "Have you ever seen"?
It's Have you ever seen, because have takes the past participle, never the past simple. So it's Have you ever eaten a snowball?, not ever ate, and I have never seen snow, not never see. Did you ever seen…? mixes two tenses and is wrong too. Learn irregular verbs in threes to keep the forms apart: see, saw, seen; eat, ate, eaten; fly, flew, flown.
What's the difference between "been to" and "gone to"?
Been to means you went and came back; gone to usually means the person went and is still there or on the way. She has been to Alaska is an experience: she visited and returned. She has gone to Alaska means she isn't here now. For life experiences, been to is the standard choice: Have you ever been to Florida? For a visit, it's also been to, not been in.
How do I teach the present perfect to A2 students?
Start from experiences students have or haven't had: Have you ever seen snow? Build have or has + past participle on the board, drill the short answers, then add never. Keep dates out at first; the contrast with the past simple can come next. Have you ever seen the sky dance? on edio.ai moves the same way, from a post and a dialogue to the scheme, four drills and a chat.
What's a good game for practicing the present perfect?
A good one is open boxes that each hide a Have you ever…? question, such as Have you ever slept in a tent or a cabin? The student who opens a box answers, then asks a partner the same question. Add one rule to stretch it: every Yes, I have needs a detail, such as It was in Florida. A spin-the-wheel version with easier questions makes a good warm-up.
What's good homework for practicing the present perfect?
Good homework moves from single forms to short texts: gaps for has never eaten or ever slept, a choice of short answers, sentences to unjumble, then a message with the right forms to choose. In Have you ever seen the sky dance? on edio.ai, all nine homework exercises check themselves, ending with Maya's message to her mom and Marco's post about a night under the northern lights.
Are there interactive exercises for the present perfect?
Yes: self-checking gap-fills and chats let learners practice the present perfect with instant feedback. Four parts of Have you ever seen the sky dance?, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, play on this page without an account: Maya's first post from Fairbanks, a dialogue in which Maya and Marco wait for the northern lights, a gap-fill of eight past participles and a live chat with Maya. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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