Today we are going to look at present perfect for experience. This is quite a simple use of the present perfect.
To talk about experiences we use this structure:
Present Perfect Structure
Subject + have / has + past participle + before
I have eaten smelly Tofu before
I haven’t eaten smelly Tofu before
中文 = 我吃過臭豆腐
Notice we do not say WHEN. This is because it is an experience, not a specific action. We do not care about when we only care about the experience.
Questions
Have + subject + past participle + before
Have you eaten smelly Tofu before?
Remember you are not asking WHEN. You are asking only if they have this experience
Before, Yet, Never and Ever with Present Perfect
When talking about experiences we like to use before at the END of the sentence or question
‘Have you been here before?’
‘Yes, I have been here before’
We can also use ever in a question instead of before or with before to ask about experience
‘Have you ever been here’
“Have you ever been here before’
Note – We do not use ever when answering this question with the present perfect
Yes, I have ever been here – WRONG
Never is used instead of ‘haven’t’
‘I have never been here’
‘I haven’t been here’
Here the meaning is the same
Yet for experience is used when we haven’t done something but we have a plan or at least an intention to do it in the future
‘I haven’t eaten smelly tofu before’
‘I haven’t eaten smelly tofu yet’
Note – We can only use yet with negative sentences and cannot use it with never together.
‘I have never eaten smelly tofu yet’ – WRONG