Grammaire + Listening
En français, on dit souvent :
— J'ai déjà voyagé.
— J'ai travaillé dans une entreprise.
— J'ai rencontré beaucoup de personnes.
En anglais, ces phrases utilisent le Present Perfect.
Ce temps relie le passé et le présent.
Il parle d'une expérience sans dire exactement quand.
✔️ Public speaking? Been there, done that.
✔️ She said "been there, done that" when I mentioned moving abroad.
✔️ She has lived through many challenges in her career.
✔️ Have you ever lived through a difficult exam period?
✔️ Working abroad helped her gain experience.
✔️ You gain experience every time you try something new.
Écoute l'audio (2 écoutes recommandées) puis réponds aux questions.
Regarde entièrement la vidéo du cours du jour.
The Present Perfect is used to talk about experiences in your life — things you have done at some point before now, without saying exactly when. The experience itself is what matters, not the time it happened.
Affirmative: Subject + have/has + past participle
Negative: Subject + have/has not (haven't/hasn't) + past participle
Question: Have/Has + subject + past participle + ?
| Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I/You/We/They | have visited | haven't visited | Have you visited? |
| He/She/It | has travelled | hasn't travelled | Has she travelled? |
✈ visited Paris · 🏆 won a prize · 📚 read this book
EVER → used in questions: "Have you ever…?" = at any time in your life?
NEVER → used in negative statements: "I have never…" = at no point in my life
Have you ever visited Yamoussoukro? (As-tu jamais visité Yamoussoukro ? dans ta vie)
Yes, I have. I visited it two years ago. (Oui. Je l'ai visitée il y a deux ans.)
No, I have never been there. I would love to go one day. (Non, je n'y suis jamais allé.)
Have you ever eaten attiéké outside Côte d'Ivoire?
| Verb | Past Participle | Sens |
|---|---|---|
| be | been | été / allé |
| go | gone / been | allé |
| see | seen | vu |
| eat | eaten | mangé |
| drink | drunk | bu |
| meet | met | rencontré |
| speak | spoken | parlé |
| write | written | écrit |
| read | read | lu (prononcé "red") |
| take | taken | pris |
| win | won | gagné |
| lose | lost | perdu |
| fly | flown | voyagé en avion |
| drive | driven | conduit |
| swim | swum | nagé |
| give | given | donné |
| make | made | fait / fabriqué |
| break | broken | cassé |
ever · never · before · once · twice · three times · many times · already · yet · just · recently · so far · in my life · up to now
I have already finished the exercise. (J'ai déjà terminé l'exercice.)
Have you eaten yet? → No, I haven't eaten yet. (As-tu déjà mangé ? → Non, pas encore.)
She has just arrived from Abidjan. (Elle vient d'arriver d'Abidjan.)
I have visited the Basilique de Yamoussoukro twice.
This is the most important distinction at B1–B2 level. The key rule: use Past Simple when you mention a specific time in the past.
| Present Perfect | Past Simple | |
|---|---|---|
| When? | No specific time / ever in life | Specific finished time |
| Focus | The experience / result | The action at that time |
| Time words | ever, never, before, already, yet | yesterday, ago, last year, in 2020 |
| Example | I have visited Paris. | I visited Paris in 2019. |
PP: Have you ever eaten sushi? → Yes, I have. (expérience de vie)
PS: I ate sushi for the first time last month in Abidjan. (moment précis)
| Use | Signal words | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ① Life experience | ever, never, before, once | I have never flown in a plane. |
| ② Recent action | just, recently | She has just finished her report. |
| ③ Unfinished situation | for, since | He has lived here since 2015. |
| ④ Achievement / result | already, yet | They have already built the school. |
| ⑤ How many times | once, twice, three times | I have read this book three times. |
HR: Have you ever worked in an international environment?
A: Yes, I have. I have worked with a French NGO twice — once in Bouaké and once in Abidjan. I have also spoken English professionally on several occasions.
HR: Have you ever managed a team?
A: Yes! I have managed a team of six people. It was during my last project in 2022.
HR: Excellent. Have you already sent your references?
A: Yes, I have just sent them by email. You should receive them shortly.
❌ I have seen him yesterday. → ✅ I saw him yesterday. ('Yesterday' = specific past time → always Past Simple.)
❌ Did you ever try plantain? → ✅ Have you ever tried plantain? (Life experience question → Present Perfect with EVER, not Past Simple with DID.)
❌ She has never went to Europe. → ✅ She has never been to Europe. (After 'have/has', always use the past participle.)
❌ I haven't never eaten sushi. → ✅ I have never eaten sushi. (NEVER already carries a negative.)
❌ Have you went to the market yet? → ✅ Have you been to the market yet? (Past participle of 'go' in this sense is 'been'.)
La clé du Present Perfect pour les expériences : ne jamais mentionner le moment précis. Dès qu'il y a "yesterday", "last year", "in 2020"… → Past Simple. Entraînez-vous avec ce jeu simple : posez-vous des questions sur votre propre vie : "Have I ever spoken English with a foreigner? Have I ever eaten food from another country? Have I ever won a competition?" Répondre à ces questions chaque jour, c'est la meilleure façon d'intégrer naturellement le Present Perfect !
Test your knowledge of have/has · ever/never · already/yet/just · PP vs Past Simple