“Have you ever…?” — Present Perfect for Experience
B1⏱ 5 min
“Have you ever…?” — Present Perfect for Experience
“Have you ever lived in four different countries?” That is a question Sourov gets asked a lot. Growing up in Chittagong, Bangladesh, he moved to Sydney in 2005, returned to Bangladesh for his wedding, then settled in the Paris suburb of Plessis-Trévise, and finally made his home in La Réunion — a French island in the Indian Ocean. Each of those moves became a life experience he can talk about using the present perfect.
🎯 Aim: Use have/has + past participle to talk about life experiences — without saying when they happened.
How it works
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Have + subject + past participle? | Have you ever lived abroad? |
| Affirmative | Yes, I have lived in four countries. |
| Negative | I have never tasted durian. |
| Third person | She has visited La Réunion twice. |
Key rule: We use the present perfect for experiences when the exact time is not important or not known. The focus is on whether the experience happened, not when.
Examples from real life
- “Have you ever eaten street food in Chittagong?“
- “Sourov has worked as a sommelier in Sydney.“
- “I have never seen snow — until I moved to France!“
- “Has your daughter been to Bangladesh yet?“
- “We have lived on a tropical island since 2018.“
Ever / Never / Yet / Already
| Word | Position | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ever | questions | Have you ever tried roti? |
| never | negatives | I have never been to Japan. |
| yet | end of sentence | She hasn’t arrived yet. |
| already | before past participle | I’ve already packed my bags. |
Practice Task — Fill in the gaps
Complete each sentence with the correct present perfect form of the verb in brackets.
- “_______ you ever _______ (visit) an island?” — “Yes, I _______ (go) to La Réunion.”
- “She _______ never _______ (eat) Bangladeshi biryani, but she wants to try it.”
- “They _______ just _______ (arrive) in Sydney — they’re exhausted.”
- “_______ he _______ (work) in hospitality before?” — “No, he _______.”
- “I _______ already _______ (book) the restaurant — don’t worry!”
Show answers
- Have you ever visited an island? — Yes, I have been / have gone to La Réunion.
- She has never eaten Bangladeshi biryani, but she wants to try it.
- They have just arrived in Sydney — they’re exhausted.
- Has he worked in hospitality before? — No, he hasn’t.
- I have already booked the restaurant — don’t worry!
💡 CELTA Tip: When students answer a “have you ever…?” question with a specific time (“Yes, I have visited Paris in 2019”), gently redirect: once you add a finished time reference, switch to past simple — “I visited Paris in 2019.”
Takeaway
Use have/has + past participle for life experiences. Add ever in questions, never in negatives, and switch to past simple the moment a specific time appears.
Cambridge CELTA course completed — 120 supervised teaching hours and four written assignments validated to the required standard.
Independent project. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.