Madrid Teacher: Present perfect to talk about experience

This week's Madrid Teacher entry deals with the use of the present perfect simple to talk about personal experience.

We use the present perfect simple this way when talking about our experience up to now in life:
I have visited Rio,  but I have never been to Buenos Aires.

We use indefinite time adverbs like ever, before, never.
I'm sure we've met before.

The standard question in this use of the present perfect is Have you ever + past participle?
Have you ever cooked a meal for more than ten people?
 
If we want to talk about specific details about the experience, we usually change to the past simple and use adverbs of finished time (yesterday, last month, three years ago). 
Have you ever seen a ghost?
Yes, I have. I saw one at my granny's house twenty years ago. 

Watch the first video below and try to understand the conversation. Pay attention to the Have you ever...? questions. Also pay attention to the way the two Madrid Teachers sometimes change to the past simple to discuss detail of the experience they are talking about.

Remember the short answer:
Have you ever seen a ghost? 
Yes, I have.
No, I haven't. 




The second video is a follow-up of the first one. But the conversation is a bit harder to understand for elementary students. However, it is interesting to watch because it very well exemplifies the change from present perfect simple to ask about experience to the past simple/past continuous to give details of that experience.



Video 1
Have you ever ridden an unusual animal?
Yes I have. I’ve ridden an elephant. Have you?
No, I have not.
Have you ever tried any extreme sports?
Yes, I have. I’ve jumped out of an airplane.
Ah, skydiving.
Yes! I’ve also been skydiving.
Ah, isn’t it fun?
It is!
Have you ever fired a gun?
Ah, yes I have.
What did you shoot at?
It was just shooting at a target.
Ok.
Have you?
Yes, I have, also at a target.
And have you ever hitch-hiked?
Yes, I have, once in Boston.
Ok.
Have you?
No, I’ve never done that.
Have you ever given a speech to more than ten people?
Yes, I have, to a room full of people when I was at school.
Have you?
Yes, I have. A few times at school.
And have you ever sung in a karaoke bar?
Yes, I have. I love karaoke. I have sung in several.
Really? And what do you like to sing?
All songs mostly. Have you?
No, I’m too afraid. I’ve never sung in a karaoke bar.
Ok.
And have you ever worn a silly hat in public?
Yes, I have for certain holidays or festivals. Have you?
Well, not since I became an adult. When I was a small child, yes, but… I’m too grown-up now.
Ok. And have you ever fallen down in public?
I’m sure I have. Have you?
Of course.
I think everybody does.

Video 2
So have you ever slept in a tent?
Yes, I have, when I was camping.
Ah, ok. Where were you camping?
I was camping in Connecticut where my parents lived.
Ok. Was it a big tent?
No, not big enough.
How many of you were camping?
Well, I think there were four of us.
Ok.
But it was good fun.
Have you ever seen a shark?
I have.
Really?
Fortunately only in the aquarium, because I think I would die of fear if I really saw one…
Ok.
… when I am swimming at the beach.
Yes, of course.
Have you?
No, I can’t say that I have.
They are very scary-looking creatures.
I believe it.
They really are.
I love to watch television programmes about them.
And have you ever played a joke on someone?
Yes, I have. Once I went to visit a friend’s university and while he was out of his room I put the fish tank on top of his bed, an empty one but a large one, and then filled it to the top with water, so that removing that tank and all of its contents would be something he would have to come home to.
That’s very, very cruel, especially if he came home very tired.
Well, we were very good friends.
Lucky!
Have you ever fallen asleep when someone is talking to you?
I don’t think so. That would be a bit rude. I know that I often fall asleep in front of the television, though.
Ok.
It’s a… it’s too easy sometimes. The sofa is very comfortable.
Of course.
Have you?
Actually I have. I was talking to a friend very late at night and we’d had a bit of wine and in the morning she told me that I’d stopped listening.
You just drifted off. She wasn’t too offended, I hope.
No, also good friends.
Good.

Real English series: More on the present perfect

In our Real English series we are showing three more videos to exemplify the use of the present perfect.

To be totally honest with you, the main benefit of the videos lies on the general revision of tenses and question forms learners are exposed to together with the listening practice, as very few of the questions in the street interviews or in the answers, for that matter, have to do with the present perfect.

The difficulty of the videos is higher than usual, so this week's videos are more suitable for intermediate students. Strong Básico 2 students will also be able to benefit from them if they read the subtitles.

In the first video, a really nice guy answers questions about his job -he is a messenger. At one stage he answers the question How long have you been a messenger for?, which shows the second use of the present perfect that we studied last week, present perfect to talk about a situation which started in the past and continues up to the present.

You can do an interactive exercise on the Real English site here.
You can watch the same video with English subtitles on the Real English site here.

In the second video Michael, a policeman in New York, answers some questions about his life. The two questions in blue refer to the use of the present perfect to talk about experiences. The question in red refers to the use of the present perfect to talk about situations which started in the past and continue up to now.
What's your name?
What do you like doing in your free time?
What did you do yesterday?
Apart from New York, what other towns have you lived in?
When did you live in Hamburg?
Where were you born?
Was that a long time ago?
What's been the best year of your life?
What have you been doing in the city today?
Were you good at school?
What's the most beautiful city in the USA?
Which is bigger New York or San Francisco?
Which is the most beautiful language?
What would you do if you won 10 million dollars?
What do you hope to achieve before you die?
What are you going to do tonight?



In the third video, once again we can see the difference of usage of the present perfect to talk about activities or situations that started in the past and continue up to now (first interviewee, the juggler, who answers the question How long have you been juggling today?) and to talk about experiences (second interviewee, who answers the questions Have you travelled abroad?, Where have you been?).

However, you shouldn't miss the third interview, where Minda shows her bubbly personality and extroverted manner. In addition, she answers a battery of questions we have been studying in our Real English series and that you can also use to revise all the grammar we have been studying throughout the series.

What is your name?

Would you spell that for me?
What are you doing right now?
Where do you live?
Where do you work?
How long does it take you to get to work?
How do you get to work?
When were you born?
What have you been doing in the city today?
Have you been to Europe?
What are you going to do tonight?
What are you going to do on your next holiday?
What do you like to do for fun?
Can you play any musical instruments?
What time is it?
What’s the weather like today?

Real English series: Contrast between present perfect and past simple

In our Real English series we feature three video clips to constrast the difference between the present perfect and the past simple.

In the first video, a very pleasant couple answers several personal information questions. The questions mainly deal with the past simple and present perfect tenses. However, it's funny to notice the way the interviewer combines the two uses of the present perfect in his questions:
(1) Present perfect to talk about experiences, news or changes (similar to the use of present perfect in Spanish).
(2) Present perfect to talk about a situation which started in the past and continues up to the present (here we usually use a present form in Spanish)

Where were you born?
Was that a long time ago?
Were you good at school?
What did you do yesterday?
What other towns have you lived in apart from New York? (1)
When did you live in Paris?
Has anything ever happened to you? (1)
How did you meet?
How long have you known each other? (2) ('¿Cuánto hace que os conocéis?')
What do you hope to achieve before you die?

You can watch the same video with English subtitles on the Real English site here.
You can do an interactive exercise on the Real English site here.

In the second video the interviewer asks the question: What have you done this morning? to ask passers-by about activities they have been involved in during the morning (use 1 of the present perfect above to talk about experiences and give news). As the interviewer is asking the question in the present perfect, we must infer that the interviews are taking place at some time during the morning, ie, before 12am.
The second question is what did you do yesterday?, where we can see the use of the past simple to talk about activities done in a finished period of time.

It's funny to notice the way a lot of the interviewees answer the question What have you done this morning? in the past simple. That is due to the fact that Americans (I think the video was recorded in New York) generally prefer the past simple to give news, whereas in Britain the present perfect is generally used to give news, the same as in Spanish.

You can read the transcript of the video clip on the Real English site here.

In the third video, we keep emphasizing the difference between past simple and present perfect. Again, it's funny to check the way the girl answers in the past simple a question she was asked in the present perfect. Remember the differences between American and British English in this respect.

What did you do yesterday?
Where did you get married?
What have you done this morning?

You can watch the same video with subtitles on the Real English site here.
You can do an interactive exercise on the clip on the Real English site here.

The Queen and her Butler: Video story to learn the present perfect

We have mentioned St George International School several times on this blog for a number of good reasons like an activity to revise the pronunciation of -ed endings in regular verbs or a poem for Mother's Day to revise some basic phrasal verbs.

In late summer St George International School started a new series on their blog to tackle basic grammar points, the first one being the present perfect.

The six entries on the present perfect include an infographic on the main rules of the present perfect, the story of Jack the Ripper to illustrate the use of this tense, a Present Perfect Love Story in cartoons to explain examples of the present perfect, an interactive Present Perfect Timeline, another story, Present Perfect sentences by an Alien, with more explanations, and last but definitely not least, the video story embedded here The Queen and her Butler, where the differences between the present perfect and the past simple are dealt with. If you drop by St George International School you will find the transcript for the story and explanations for the usage of the present perfect or the past simple.

All in all, the series on the present perfect is an engaging fun way of learning and revising a difficult grammar point for language learners. I would say the material in the series is suitable for strong Básico 2 and intermediate students.



I wouldn't like to end this post without mentioning the podcasts St George International School publishes on a regular basis which are suitable for intermediate students. Teachers of the school discuss everyday topics in a natural way on the podcasts. Transcripts and activities are forthcoming.

The use of the present perfect in English

In early July Tanya Trusler published an entry on the ESL Library blog about the use of the present perfect in English.

She talks about the two main uses of the present perfect, the difference between present perfect and past simple, and the difference between present perfect simple and continuous.

It is a simple, straightforward explanation, but one of the best I have read about a difficult grammar point for many English learners.

Present perfect vs past simple glogster

A few days ago Daniela Tomatis from The Machine Goes on blog published a glogster (interactive poster) to explain the differences of usage between present perfect and past simple, while providing some activitities for students to practise this grammar point.

On Daniela's glogster you will find two video explanations (one in Italian, the other one in English), two interactive activities, two games, and two 'post-its' on irregular verbs, which include pronunciation work.

All in all, this glogster is an entertaining and useful tool for students to come to grips with the differences between the present perfect and past simple.

Thank you, Daniela.

The use of the Present Perfect

I have been meaning to write an entry about the use of the present perfect in English for a long time. Finally I came across the video below which summarizes both the main uses and problems learners may find in using this tense.

The teacher on the video refers to two general uses of the present perfect:

1) When we talk about a finished action in a general way and we do not give a specific time, we don’t say when the action happened, although the action is connected to the present somehow. In this use the present perfect is used to talk about changes, to give news, to talk about experiences, to refer to things we have completed. This use of the present perfect in English is similar to the present perfect in Spanish.

2) When we refer to actions or situations which started in the past and continue up to now (3’ 52” on the video). This use is completely different in Spanish, as we tend to use a present simple + gerund structure.

The teacher also draws our attention to the use of adverbials, which may help us to know when to use the present perfect or the past simple and, consequently, avoid mistakes.

Typical expressions with present perfect are recently, lately, many times, several times, often, sometimes, just, ever? never, already, yet, for and since.

With present perfect you cannot use specific time expressions that say when something happened: last month/week/year, ago, when (I was a child), during my childhood, yesterday, at 10, on Monday, in 2001. With specific time expressions we use the past simple.

These interactive activities from English Grammar Secrets may help us to discriminate between present perfect and past simple, and pay careful attention to the adverbials when using one tense or another.

Been vs gone (present perfect)

The verb go has two participles, gone and been. The use of gone or been depends on the meaning of the sentence.

My brother has gone to London – My brother is in London now.
My brother has been to London – My brother has visited London, but he’s not in London now.

Pay attention to the fact that been is followed by the preposition to in this use. It is the use of present perfect to talk about experiences, which is similar to Spanish (He estado en Londres=Conozco Londres).

The English You Need blog has published the activity below to help you discriminate between been and gone.

On a future entry we will be dealing with the difference in meaning between been to and been in in the present perfect.