Life's adventures: discussing experiences with the present perfect

A2
90 min
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1

Think about these questions before reading. Share your ideas with a partner.

  1. What is an interesting place you have been to?
  2. What is a new skill you have learned? For example, cooking, a sport, or a language.
  3. What is one country you want to visit in the future? Why?
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Trying Something New

Listen to the dialogue. Notice how the vocabulary and grammar from the lesson are used.

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Listen to or read the dialogue again and answer the questions.

01Where has Marco just come back from?
Sample answerHe has just come back from a trip to the mountains.
02What new thing did Marco do on his trip?
Sample answerHe climbed a small mountain for the first time.
03Has Emma ever climbed a mountain?
Sample answerNo, she says she has never tried that.
04What is Emma's dream trip?
Sample answerShe wants to go on a trip to see the Northern Lights.
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Key vocabulary for life experiences

Vocabulary
These expressions will help you talk about your experiences, travel, and achievements more naturally.
Examples
Try something new — to do an activity you have never done before.
Use this to talk about hobbies, food, or travel. For example: 'I have tried something new every year.'
Go on a trip — to travel to a place, usually for a short time for a holiday.
This is a very common phrase. We often say where we went: 'I have gone on a trip to the mountains.'
Reach a goal — to successfully do something important that you wanted to do.
This is great for talking about achievements. You can also say 'achieve a goal'. For example: 'He has reached his goal of running a marathon.'
Face a challenge — to deal with a difficult situation.
Use this to talk about overcoming problems. For example: 'In my life, I have faced many challenges.'
Once in a lifetime — describes a very special experience that you will probably only have one time.
We use this for amazing opportunities or trips. For example: 'Seeing the northern lights was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.'
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Vocabulary for life experiences

Learn some new words to talk about your life.

Match the words on the left with their meanings on the right.

Drag or click to match
Definitions
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Grammar: Present perfect for life experiences

Grammar
We use the present perfect (have/has + past participle) to talk about experiences in our lives. The exact time of the action is not important. We are talking about if the experience happened or not.
Examples
I have visited Paris.
This means that sometime in my life, I went to Paris. We don't say when.
Have you ever climbed a mountain?
We often use 'ever' in questions to ask about any time in a person's life.
She has never tried Japanese food.
We use 'never' to say someone has not had an experience at any time in their life.
Key points
  • The structure is: have/has + past participle (e.g., seen, eaten, been).
  • Use 'has' for he, she, and it.
  • Don't use a specific time like 'last year' or 'yesterday'. Say 'I have seen that movie', not 'I have seen that movie yesterday'.
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Find the mistake

Read the sentences below. Each one has a mistake.

Find the one error in each sentence and write the correct version.

01He have climbed a very high mountain.
Corrected version
He have has climbed a very high mountain.
02I have been to Italy in 2019.
Corrected version
I have been went to Italy in 2019.
03My sister has wrote a book about her travels.
Corrected version
My sister has wrote written a book about her travels.
04You have ever tried spicy food?
Corrected version
You Have you ever tried spicy food?
05We went in a trip to the countryside last year.
Corrected version
We went in on a trip to the countryside last year.
06It was a big achieve for me to learn to swim.
Corrected version
It was a big achieve achievement for me to learn to swim.
07Learning a new language is a big challange.
Corrected version
Learning a new language is a big challange. challenge.
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Complete the sentences with words from the box. One word is extra.

Word bank
01I have finally reached my of learning to play the guitar.
02She has never been on a to another country, but she wants to go to Spain.
03Climbing that mountain was a big , but I have done it!
04I want to try something this weekend, like cooking food from Japan.
05Visiting the Amazon rainforest was a once-in-a- experience for me.
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Discuss these questions with a partner. Try to use vocabulary from the lesson.

  1. What is a 'once in a lifetime' experience that many people in your country want to have?
  2. Is it more important to 'go on a trip' to a new country or to 'reach a goal' like learning a new skill? Why?
  3. Think about a time you had to 'face a challenge'. Was it a good experience in the end? Why or why not?