SEMAINE 13 – JOUR 1 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.
LISTENING DU JOUR
COURS & EXERCICE D'APPLICATION
Mon Coach Pro · Grammaire B1–B2
Present Perfect
Life Experiences — Have you ever…?
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 + ?
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
💡 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.
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
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. (→ now switch to Past Simple for the detail)
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. J'adorerais y aller un jour.
Have you ever eaten attiéké outside Côte d'Ivoire?
As-tu jamais mangé de l'attiéké en dehors de la 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!)
NEVER replaces "not" : I have never tried (NOT "I haven't never tried" — double negative!)
Many common verbs have irregular past participles. These must be memorised.
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)
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)
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.
J'ai visité la Basilique de Yamoussoukro deux fois.
💡 ALREADY / YET / JUST :
ALREADY — in affirmative (sooner than expected) : I've already done it.
YET — in questions and negatives (up to now) : Have you done it yet? / I haven't done it yet.
JUST — very recently : I've just done it.
ALREADY — in affirmative (sooner than expected) : I've already done it.
YET — in questions and negatives (up to now) : Have you done it yet? / I haven't done it yet.
JUST — very recently : I've just done it.
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.
As-tu déjà mangé des sushis ? (expérience de vie)
PS : I ate sushi for the first time last month in Abidjan.
J'ai mangé des sushis pour la première fois le mois dernier à 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
✘ 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
| 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. |
💬 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.
I have seen him yesterday.
✔ I saw him yesterday. (Past Simple — specific time)
→ '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 (been, not went).
I haven't never eaten sushi.
✔ I have never eaten sushi.
→ NEVER already carries a negative. Never combine with haven't/hasn't.
Have you went to the market yet?
✔ Have you been to the market yet?
→ Past participle of 'go' (in the sense of visiting) is 'been', not 'went'.
🎓
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 !
📝 Exercise — Present Perfect : Life Experiences
Test your knowledge of have/has · ever/never · already/yet/just · PP vs Past Simple
- ❓ 12 questions
- ⏱️ 15 minutes
- ✅ Immediate correction after each answer
- 📊 Score by category at the end
🎓 Present Perfect — Mon Coach Pro
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