It is very common to talk about our experiences but how do we do that?
n.a. n.d. People. [photo]. Taken from http://bit.ly/2lqYerH
Well, before you are in this situation, you should know that the frequency adverbs ever and never come in very handy for this type of situation.
Please be aware that, at this point, it is essential that you already know verbs in simple, past and past participle and are familiar with the present perfect and the simple past structure in English.
Use the grammatical structure of the simple past, present perfect and the adverbs of frequency never and ever to express previous experiences of life.
Present perfect
Remember, the present perfect is used to talk about actions in the past that are somehow connected to the present.
Present perfect has the following form:
n.a. n.d. Paisaje. [photo]. Taken from https://pixabay.com/photo-664783/
n.a. n.d. TV.. [photo]. Taken from https://pixabay.com/photo-391555/
Hudson P. (2015) Wheel of fortune. [photo]. Taken from https://flic.kr/p/yKr4tc
The most important difference between present perfect and simple past is:
Simple past
Let’s remember how to form simple past:
Frequency adverbs ever and never
Now that you have reviewed the present perfect and the simple past let’s explore the use the frequency adverbs ever and never.
Frequency adverbs are words used to express the frequency of an action. They are ADVERBS that are used BEFORE the main verb (ad-verbs= before verbs).
As you can see the adverb EVER does not actually indicate a frequency, it is more like: "in your whole life”. That’s why it is commonly in questions to ask about experiences.
For example:
s.a., s.f., Fantasma. Taken from https://pixabay.com/photo-35852/
To answer this question, you can do one of these things:
Instruction: Click on each of the following boxes to see the correspondent information.
1. You can simply give a short form of the answer by saying: No, I haven’t.
But this does not sound very engaged to the conversation so:
2. You could give a complete sentence to emphasize the negative response; in this case you can use the frequency adverb NEVER which means “not in my whole life”
For example: No, I have NEVER seen a ghost.
As you can see in this example, you use NEVER before the main verb (because it is an adverb) and you use the auxiliary in the affirmative form.
It is not correct to say:
I haven’t never
1. You could simply give a short form of the answer by saying: Yes, I have. Now that you have said this is actually part of your experience, you could tell when, how, where it happened. Of course, you will need to use Simple Past to tell your experience.
For example:
Damian: Have you ever seen a ghost?
You: Yes, I have! I was at home once, it was midnight and I couldn’t sleep so I went to the kitchen and there it was! I saw something like a light moving and it disappear!
s.a., s.f., Miedo. [photo]. Taken from https://pixabay.com/photo-70603/
Creating questions.
Based on the previous information, drag each word to create a question in the present perfect. You have to write a grammatically correct question. You can try this twice. At the end of the activity, you can see your score.
Example:
? Have a bone broken you ever
Have you ever broken a bone ?
Activity 1
In the following reading you will find some expressions using ever and never and some experiences about a wanderer.
Have you ever wondered about that homeless person living in your neighborhood?
n.a. n.d. Mendigo. [photo]. Taken from https://pixabay.com/photo-1016678/
One day he or she just showed up and stays there, who knows for how long. Have you ever wondered about his or her past? Have you ever thought whether he or she has a family or a profession?
Do you just assume that person has always been a wanderer?
Let me tell you about my experience.
I am Frederic. A 38-year-old wanderer, call me vagabond if you prefer that word. Of course, I haven’t always been a vagabond. I was born in a traditional family. It was my mom and dad, my older brother and I. My life was tough as a child but I was happy… you know I had exactly what I needed: a family, a house and food. My parents taught me I had to work hard and I did, they didn’t push me to get a degree, but I did it anyways. I became an administrator. I started making good money. Maybe more than you think.
You may be wondering what happened then. Well… I learned things had to be made by myself, that no one would be there with a magic wand to give me anything. I was tough and I thought I was alone too. How wrong I was. I have never been loyal to anybody. I took everything I wanted from people who loved me and I gave nothing back. Now I know this.
I decided once I wanted a family: I lied to a wonderful woman and after trying for one year she finally got pregnant with my son. I knew I would have everything then so, I stopped helping her. I left her alone with her pregnancy; I never helped her with doctors or hospitals. I was too busy dating other girls I didn’t care about. My son was born… It was a boy! I have always wanted to have a baby boy and now it was real. That didn’t make me react though, you know, I was a womanizer! How could I feed or clean or sleep a newborn? Noo, not me! I thought that was a woman’s work. I slept during night and went to party during the day. My wife would have to take care of the baby.
Time went by and my son grew up, my wife of course left me, she and my son learned how to be so happy without me. They had everything: my son had the best mother ever! My wife had the happiest son too. I just had my empty business and my empty life.
I have always been a “macho” so that situation didn’t stop me from being dating one girl after another. I tried to settle down with a girl who was really pretty and young, but she had a mean heart. I actually missed my wife. I tried to get back with my ex-wife (of course she shut the door on my nose), my current girlfriend found out about this and she got me in a trouble that made me lose my job, my business and my clients. I lost the apartment and moved with some friends. I was too sad, felt so much regret. I didn’t live long with my friends. I put all my things in my car and left. I needed money and started selling everything little by little. I didn’t want to see my family because I was too embarrassed and I wrote a letter to my ex-wife asking her to tell my son I had left the country. One day I saw myself there… sleeping on a bench in a park. Getting temporary jobs that help me get money for food, moving from one place to another.
I have met some others vagabonds in the way and of course we all have different stories. There are wanderers who love traveling and have never been caught into the system: They don’t pay taxes, they don’t pay rent, they live wherever they like and they are so happy. One thing we all have in common is… people like you do not understand us. We are there but we do not exist. I am sure you never think much about us.
My dream is to let you know vagabonds like me, were people like you once. My dream is to let you know we all make mistakes and mistakes are sometimes too expensive.
From the moment I Knew I had made a horrible mistake I have never slept without wishing I had known how to be a father. I wish I knew how to be a good husband. Things can get really bad. Like a snowball they just grow bigger and you are there inside, trapped in something you could’ve avoided from the very beginning. My dream is then, to let you know that, in my case, mistakes are expensive; you know exactly when you make them and you do nothing to avoid them. That is the worst mistake ever!
Be a wanderer by choice!
That’s my best piece of advice.
After reading the article, identify if the statements are true or false by clicking on the appropriate option (T or F). You have two attempts to answer every item. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.
Activity 2
How important are our experiences to get a good job? Have you ever had a job interview where your personal experiences mattered?
In the following activity you will listen to a job interview. After you listen, identify if the statements are true or false by choosing the appropriate option (T for True and F for False). You will have two chances to complete this exercise and you will get to know your score at the end of the exercise.
Job interview
Activity 3
This activity is divided into two parts.
In the first part, you will have to look at a picture and based your own experience write your comments. You have to mention if you have ever done what the image suggests. You will have to write I have …before or I have never… with the correct form of the verb in the past participle. You can use contractions I've… too.
At least one of your answers will have to be affirmative. Punctuation and capitalisation will be evaluated.
For example:
Have an oral surgery.
Surgery.
I have never had an oral surgery/ I've never had oral surgery.
OR I have had oral surgery before/I've had oral surgery before.
Activity 4
Second Part:
Here are the pictures from the last activity:
Choose one of these experiences that you have done or mentioned and write a short paragraph (from 40 to 50 words) answering:
You will use present perfect and simple past to express your ideas.
For example:
I had a tooth surgery 2 years ago. I went with my friends to the Dentistry School because I had a sharp pain in one of my teeth. The dentists said I needed oral surgery to take my tooth out. I was really nervous, and the operation was painful. However, after surgery, I felt much better.
Look at the rubrics which will help you:
● Know the aspects you will need to consider when doing the speaking activity.
● Evaluate yourself.
Activity 5
Job interview
In this activity you will give reasons to hire or not Mr. Yussell.
You will have to use Mr. Yussell has … before/Mr. Yussell has never… and the Simple Past structure to express most of your ideas.
You have to explain your ideas for two minutes and no more than three.
Listen to an example of this activity here
There are many contexts in real life where you can use the present perfect with the words ever and never. Now it is time for you to practice and see some examples of these everyday contexts. You may need them soon!
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