PRESENT PERFECT

Task 1
Complete the poem with words from the box on the right.
A FULL LIFE
Ive had a full life

seen
world

And Ive done a lot.

Ive travelled round the ...world...

family
horse

Where others have (1) .................

Ive been to China
And flown a plane

again
chance
not

champagne

course
books

Ive ridden a (2) .................

And drunk (3) .................
Ive met George Bush
And had tea with the Queen
Ive written three (4) .................
About the things Ive (5) .................
Ive never been married
Ive never been divorced
Ive never had a (6) .................
No children, of (7) .................
But Ive seen a lot of places
And Ive made a lot of friends
And if I had the (8) .................
Id do it all (9) .................

Photograph by Amanito
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amanito/772602522/

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PRESENT PERFECT
Task 2
Change the poem so it is true for you. Tell a partner. Speak, dont write.
Grammar: present perfect simple for experiences
Examples:

Ive
I have
Ive never
I havent

been to China.
flown a plane.
drunk champagne.
been married.

Task 3
Complete the past participles of the verbs from the poem.
INFINITIVE
have

PAST
had

do

did

travel

travelled

go

went

fly

flew

ride

rode

drink

drank

meet

met

write

wrote

see

saw

be

was/were

PAST PARTICIPLE

travelled
(or) gone

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PRESENT PERFECT
Task 4
Complete these questions with your own ideas.
Take turns asking and answering the questions with a partner.
Have you ever...?
... been to .....................................?
... met .........................................?
... drunk ........................................?
... eaten ........................................?
... smoked ......................................?
... ridden .......................................?
... driven ........................................?
... played ......................................?
... read ........................................?
... seen .........................................?
... written ....................................?
... listened to .................................?
... used ...........................................?
Answers
Yes, I have. Have you?
or
No, never.

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PRESENT PERFECT
TEACHER'S NOTES & KEY
Elementary Grammar introduction to present perfect simple
Target language: Present perfect simple (experience)
Aims: Introduce/check and practise 1st person singular, positive, negative and Have you ever? question
forms.
Useful pre-work:
The use of rhyme in poems and popular songs.
Pre-Teaching
The countable nouns experience(s) and poem(s), e.g. via challenge to students on the
black/whiteboard:
A(n)..................... . is something that happens to us that changes us, a little or a lot
[experience]
A ...................... is a text, like a song, but with no music
[poem]
Task 1
The contextual cues for guessing where the missing words should go in this poem include the use of
rhyming words at the end of the second and fourth line of each verse.
Suggested answers:
a) not, b) horse, c) champagne, d) books, e) seen, f) family, g) course, h) chance, i) again
Task 3
Suggested sequence:
1. Students repeat the poem aloud after the teacher.
2. Students read aloud the poem, line by line, around the class, with the teachers help.
3. Students read aloud the poem with a partner, taking turns, e.g. reading alternate lines.
Task 4
Here are some more examples of modified sentences from the poem:
Ive never ridden a horse, but Ive ridden a bicycle and driven a lorry.
Ive drunk sangria, sake and tequila!
Ive never met George Bush but Ive met a famous footballer and got his autograph!
I havent had tea with the Queen, but Ive had tea with my family.
Ive written a couple of stories and lots of emails.
I am married. Ive never been divorced
Ive got a family, a wife and two children
Ive seen some interesting places and Ive made some good friends
If I had the chance, I wouldnt do ALL of it again, but Id probably do MOST of it again.

Task 5
Grammar
For meaning, highlight the use of the present perfect to talk about completed experiences at unspecified
times in the past, using the diagram and the concept questions.
Optionally illustrate briefly how specifying the time/place forces us to use the past simple, e.g.

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PRESENT PERFECT
Ive been to China.
(present perfect)
Ive been to China in 2004.
I went to China in 2004.
(past simple)
INFINITIVE

PAST

PAST PARTICIPLE

have

had

had

do

did

done

travel

travelled

travelled

go

went

been (or) gone

fly

flew

flown

ride

rode

ridden

drink

drank

drunk

meet

met

met

write

wrote

written

see

saw

seen

be

was/were

been

Task 6
Question practice with Have you ever?
Students could prepare the questions with one partner, then change partners and ask their new partner
the prepared questions. They should think of unusual, but possible, and sufficiently general experiences,
e.g. probably not Have you ever met David Beckham? which is too specific, but Have you ever met a
famous person?. Again, probably not Have you ever been to the cinema? (too common and mundane)
but Have you ever been to a nightclub? (quite common but quite interesting too)
Here are some ideas if students need help:
been to (name of country)
met (a famous person)
drunk (an unusual drink)
eaten (an unusual food)
smoked (cigarettes, a cigar, a pipe)
ridden (a camel, a horse, a donkey, a motorbike, etc)
driven (an expensive luxury or racing car)
played (a less usual sport or game)
read (a famous book)
seen (a popular film)
written (for a newspaper or magazine, a poem, a short story, a letter in English)
listened to (a popular pop group, album or song)
used (a common tool, a video phone)

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