B1–B2

Life Experience — English Grammar Exercises

I did vs I have done — finally get it right

Present Perfect for Life Experience

One of the three core uses of the present perfect is expressing life experience — things that have (or have never) happened at some unspecified time in a person's life. Corpus analysis from the Cambridge Learner Corpus shows that 'Have you ever...?' questions are among the most frequent present perfect structures at B1 level, yet learners frequently substitute past simple ('Did you ever...?'), which is non-standard in contemporary British and American English.

How It Works

When the exact time of an experience is unknown or irrelevant, use have/has + past participle. The focus is on whether the experience has occurred at all, not on when.

Have you ever ridden a horse? (at any point in your life?)
I have been to Paris three times. (at various unspecified moments)
She has never eaten Indian food. (zero experiences up to now)
It's the best film I have ever seen. (superlative comparing all life experience)

Key Patterns

Have/Has + ever + past participle — questions about experience.
Have/Has + never + past participle — absence of experience.
Superlative + I have ever + past participle — comparing against all experience.

Been to vs Gone to

I have been to Tokyo. (visited and returned — life experience)
She has gone to Tokyo. (went and is still there — not yet returned)

Common Mistakes

✗ Did you ever try sushi? → ✓ Have you ever tried sushi?
✗ I never flew in a helicopter. → ✓ I have never flown in a helicopter.
✗ It's the best book I ever read. → ✓ It's the best book I have ever read.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I use present perfect instead of past simple?

Use present perfect (have/has + past participle) when the connection to the present matters: life experience ('Have you ever tried sushi?'), a result relevant now ('I've lost my keys — can you help?'), or an ongoing situation with since/for ('She has lived here since 2015'). Use past simple when you specify a finished time: 'She moved here in 2015', 'I saw him yesterday', 'Did you call last night?'

What is the difference between 'since' and 'for' in the present perfect?

'For' goes with a duration — a length of time: 'for three years', 'for ages', 'for two months'. 'Since' goes with a starting point in time: 'since 2019', 'since Monday', 'since I was a child'. Both appear with present perfect when the situation is still true now: 'I've worked here for three years' (still work there); 'I've worked here since 2019' (same meaning, different framing).

Which words tell me to use present perfect — just, already, yet, ever?

'Just' (= moments ago), 'already' (= earlier than expected), 'yet' (= up to now, used in questions and negatives), and 'ever/never' (= at any time in your life) are all strong signals for present perfect. Contrast these with past simple signals: 'yesterday', 'last week', 'in 2020', 'two hours ago', 'when I was a child' — any expression naming a finished period forces past simple.

What is 'have been to' vs 'have gone to'?

'Have been to' means visited and returned: 'I have been to Paris three times' (I'm not there now). 'Have gone to' means went and has not returned: 'She has gone to Paris' (she is still there). This distinction is one of the highest-frequency errors in learner corpora at B1–B2 level.