SEMAINE 13 – JOUR 1 Present Perfect
SEMAINE 13 · JOUR 1 · NIVEAU B1-B2
Present Perfect — Life Experiences
Grammaire + Listening
👋 Introduction
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.
💡 Daily Idiom — Been there, done that
Sens en français : déjà vécu ça, expérience déjà acquise.
✔️ Public speaking? Been there, done that.
✔️ She said "been there, done that" when I mentioned moving abroad.
🔤 Daily Phrasal Verb — Live through
Sens en français : vivre, traverser (une expérience).
✔️ She has lived through many challenges in her career.
✔️ Have you ever lived through a difficult exam period?
🔗 Daily Collocation — Gain experience
Sens en français : acquérir de l'expérience.
✔️ Working abroad helped her gain experience.
✔️ You gain experience every time you try something new.
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📄 Transcript
Regarde entièrement la vidéo du cours du jour.
1. What is the Present Perfect for Life Experiences?
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? |
2. How It Works — The Timeline
✈ visited Paris · 🏆 won a prize · 📚 read this book
💡 Key idea: All these experiences happened at some point in the past — but we don't say when. They are part of your life history up to NOW. That's why we use the Present Perfect, not the Past Simple.
3. EVER & NEVER — The Two Key Words
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?
💡 Tip: EVER goes between the subject and the past participle: "Have you ever tried…?" NEVER replaces "not": "I have never tried" (NOT "I haven't never tried" — double negative!)
4. Irregular Past Participles — Essential List
| 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 |
💡 BEEN vs GONE: been = went and came back: "She has been to Paris." (she's back now) — gone = went and is still there: "She has gone to Paris." (she's still there)
5. Signal Words — Key Triggers for Present Perfect Experiences
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.
💡 ALREADY / YET / JUST: ALREADY — affirmative, sooner than expected: "I've already done it." YET — questions/negatives, up to now: "Have you done it yet? / I haven't done it yet." JUST — very recently: "I've just done it."
6. Present Perfect vs Past Simple — The Critical Difference
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)
⚠️ Common error: ✘ I have visited Abidjan last year. → ✔ I visited Abidjan last year. (Specific time = Past Simple) · ✘ Did you ever try attiéké? → ✔ Have you ever tried attiéké? (Life experience question = Present Perfect)
7. Five Uses of the Present Perfect
| 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. |
8. Real-Life Dialogue — Job Interview in Abidjan
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.
9. Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ 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'.)
🎓 Coach Assoa vous conseille
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
❓ 12 questions
⏱️ 15 minutes
✅ Correction immédiate après chaque réponse
📊 Score par catégorie à la fin
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