1 · The present perfect for experience
have / has + past participleI’ve flown to Sydney. · She hasn’t been to Bondi. · Have you ever swum in the ocean?
Write the verbs in brackets in the present perfect.
I (see) Sydney from the air, and it looks amazing at night.
you ever (fly) on a 747?
She (be) to Bondi Beach three times.
We (not / swim) at Bondi yet — the water is too cold!
He (fall) in love with someone who lives far away.
I (write) her so many letters.
They (spend) all their savings on plane tickets.
she ever (leave) her job for love?
2 · Past participles
-ed: land → landed, travel → travelled.Irregular verbs change — you have to learn them: see → saw → seen.
Write the past participle (the third form) of each verb.
see →
fly →
be →
fall →
write →
spend →
leave →
take →
wake →
swim →
buy →
break →
come →
land →
quit →
long →
3 · Present perfect or past simple?
Past simple – a finished time in the past: yesterday, last year, in 2019, two days ago, when…
I’ve been to Sydney. but I went to Sydney last summer.
Choose the correct form.
I the Opera House at night.
Our plane at 6 o’clock this morning.
on a jumbo jet?
He his job two weeks ago.
She in Sydney since 2020.
When I a child, I lived near the beach.
I to Bondi twice, but I can’t surf!
We to each other every week in 2019.
4 · Your turn · Have you ever…?
Ask a partner. If they say yes, ask a follow-up question in the past simple: When did you go? What was it like?
- Have you ever seen a city from a plane at night?
- Have you ever been to Bondi Beach — or another famous beach?
- Have you ever done something crazy for love?
- Have you ever quit a job or left home for a big change?
- Have you ever written a letter by hand?
Talk about it
- Is the singer happy about the trip, nervous, or both? Why do you think so?
- Would you give up your job and spend all your savings to be with someone? Why / why not?
- What is the best view you have ever seen?
- Why do you think the song asks Have you ever…? and not Did you…?