Past Experiences
and Present Results

Form — have / has + past participle

	example
positive	I have ('ve) finished. · She has ('s) gone. · They have ('ve) broken it.
negative	I haven't finished. · He hasn't gone.
question	Have you finished? · Has he gone? · Where have you been?

Regular past participles end in -ed: played, used, visited, wanted.

Common irregular past participles: been, broken, come, driven, eaten, gone, had, made, seen, taken, written, known, given, read.

been vs gone:
My parents have gone to New York. — They are there now.
My parents have been to New York. — They visited it; they're back now.

Past experiences

Use the present perfect for actions and experiences in your life up to now:

Have you driven an automatic car before? · My father has worked for several different companies.

Common expressions: often, once, twice, several times — I've eaten there several times.

ever, never, before

• ever — in questions, means "in your life": Have you ever driven a truck?
• never — in negatives, means "not in your life": I've never swum with dolphins.
• before — usually at the end: We've been here before.

ever and never go before the past participle:
❌ Have you been ever to California?
✅ Have you ever been to California?

Past actions with present results

Use the present perfect for a past action that has a result in the present:

My car has broken down. (= It's still not working.)
They've gone out. (= They aren't here now.)

just, already, recently

word	meaning	example
just	a very short time ago	The plane has just landed.
already	before the expected time (positive)	It's already finished.
recently	in the last few days or months	Have you seen them recently?

just and already go before the past participle: ❌ My car has broken down just. → ✅ My car has just broken down.

Don't use already in negative sentences: ❌ The parcel hasn't arrived already. → ✅ The parcel hasn't arrived yet.

still, yet

• yet — in questions (expected): Has the train arrived yet?
• yet — in negatives (expected): Our pizzas haven't come yet.
• still — in negatives, before hasn't / haven't: She still hasn't marked our essay.

yet goes at the end; still goes before hasn't / haven't.

Don't use yet in positive sentences: ❌ I've paid for the meal yet. → ✅ I've already paid for the meal.

Still can also be used in positive sentences with present simple/continuous: Carlos is thirty, but he still lives with his parents.

Common mistakes

❌	✅
Have you been ever to California?	Have you ever been to California?
My car has broken down just.	My car has just broken down.
The parcel hasn't arrived already.	The parcel hasn't arrived yet.
I've paid for the meal yet.	I've already paid for the meal.
My parents have gone to NY twice.	My parents have been to NY twice.