When I teach the present perfect tense, I find that students understand it better when it is explained in categories. In this post I explain one of the main uses of the present perfect: to talk about your life experiences.

Have you ever been to . . . ?

You can use the present perfect to talk about a place, city or country you have visited or travelled to. The present perfect is used to talk about if, at any point in your life in the past, you have visited or travelled to a specific place.

It is common in English to use the verb be to talk about places you have visited or travelled to. Using the verbs ‘visit’ or ‘travel’ is more formal.

*Note that the preposition to is used with ‘be’ in the present perfect:

Correct answers:
Yes, I have!
Yes, I’ve been to Rome (once, twice, etc.).
Yes, I’ve been there (once, twice, etc.).
No, I haven’t!
No, I haven’t been to Italy.
No, I haven’t been there.
No, I’ve never been to Rome.
No, I’ve never been there.

Incorrect answers:
Yes, I’ve ever been to Rome.
No, I’ve never been in Rome.
Yes, I’ve been to there.
Yes, I’ve been to Rome in 2005.

Remember …

If you want to say WHEN you did something, use the simple past:
Have you ever been to Rome?
Yes, I’ve been to Rome! I went to Rome in 2005.