The present perfect

  • A2 · Elementary
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min

The present perfect for experiences: I've been to Hawaii, Have you ever seen a whale?, She has never skied. Past participles, ever and never, once and twice, and the past simple for the details of one time (I went there in 2022). From a couple planning a vacation to an "I've never…" game.

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Free, no card needed. The PDF has every slide, the homework and an answer key.

I've beenhas neverHave you ever…?

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2Reading: our next vacationReading comprehension
  3. 3What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  4. 4Find the present perfectGrammar exercise
  5. 5How the present perfect worksGrammar rule
  6. 6Amazing experiencesGrammar exercise
  7. 7Present perfect or past simple?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Questions and answersGrammar exercise
  9. 9Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
  10. 10Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  11. 11The "I've never…" gameSpeaking practice
  12. 12About youGrammar exercise
  13. 13Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: PeruGrammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: my travelsDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Do you like planning vacations, or do you let someone else do it?
  2. What kind of vacation do you like best: the beach, the mountains or a big city?
  3. What is the farthest place from home that you have visited?

Grammar rule

How the present perfect works

have / has + past participle

Example
PositiveI've camped many times. Diego has been to Hawaii.
NegativeI haven't seen a whale. He has never slept in a tent.
QuestionHave you ever been to Alaska? — Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.

I, you, we, they → have ('ve) · he, she, it → has ('s)

Past participles

Regular: -edIrregular
visit → visited, try → tried, camp → camped, ski → skiedbe → been, do → done, drive → driven, eat → eaten, fly → flown, go → gone, have → had, meet → met, ride → ridden, see → seen, sleep → slept, swim → swum, take → taken, write → written

Experiences in your life

Use the present perfect for experiences, without a time: I've been to Alaska. Have you ever seen a whale? (ever = at any time) He has never skied. (never = at no time) How often? once, twice, three times, many times.

The past simple for when and for details

When you say when, or tell the story of one time, use the past simple: I've skied once. I went to Colorado in 2020, and I fell all day.

Not with a finished time: not I have been to Hawaii last year → I went to Hawaii last year. And a question with When…? uses the past simple: When did you go?
For experiences, use been: Have you ever been to Japan? (In American English, you can also hear: Have you ever gone camping?) But He has gone to Japan usually means he is there now.

Teach it live with video and a whiteboard, or print it: the PDF has every slide, the homework and the answers.

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