Many English learners struggle to understand the present perfect tense. It doesn’t exist in many other languages, so it is difficult to remember when to use it in English. It is easier to understand the present perfect tense if you can remember the different situations in which it can be used.

Life Experiences

You can use the present perfect to talk about your life experiences: places you have visited and things you’ve done in the past. I will explain this in three parts:

Present Perfect I: Have you ever been to …?
Present Perfect II: Have you ever (done something)? [This article]
Present Perfect III: How long have you (done something)?

 

Have you ever . . . (done something)?

 

The present perfect can be used to talk about things you have done in your life, without saying when you did them. It can be used to talk about experiences you’ve had, or things you have done or tried in the past.

The present perfect is used to talk about IF you did something, not WHEN! If you want to talk about WHEN you did something, use the simple past.

 

 

 

Question:

Have you ever bungee jumped?

Correct answers:

Yes,…
I have!
I’ve bungee jumped
I’ve done/tried it (once).
I’ve ___________ once in my life!

No,…
I haven’t.
I’ve never __________ .
I’ve never done/tried it.

Incorrect answers:

X: Yes, I have ever!
X: Yes, I have ever bungee jumped!

 

Important!

Ever is NOT used in statements (positive or negative). It is only used in questions with the present perfect.

You CAN use ever in a superlative statement:

Yes, I’ve tried bungee jumping. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done!

 

More examples of this use of the present perfect:

Have you ever eaten Japanese food?
~ Yes, I’ve tried sushi.

Have you ever smoked a cigarette?
~ No, I’ve never done that!

Have you ever been on a plane?
~ Yes, I’ve been on a plane many times!

Have you ever read a Stephen King book?
~ No. I don’t like scary books!