← English in Action A2 A2 Arabic

14B Grammar

Talk about travel experiences

Unit 14

I CAN use the present perfect with ever / never
I CAN talk about life experiences

Grammar

10 cards

The present perfect is one of the most useful tenses in English. You use it when you want to talk about things that happened at some time in your life, but you do not say exactly when. For example, you can say I have visited Paris without saying when you went. If you want to say when, you need a different tense: I visited Paris last year (past simple).

To make the present perfect, you use have or has + the past participle. The past participle is the third form of the verb. For regular verbs, you just add -ed: visit → visited, travel → travelled. For some common irregular verbs, the form is different and you have to learn it: be → been, go → gone, see → seen, eat → eaten.

In this lesson we focus on two small but very common words: ever and never. Both words work with the present perfect.

Ever goes in questions. It means at any time in your life. When you ask Have you ever visited Japan?, you want to know if your friend went there at any time. You do not want to know when.

Never goes in negative sentences. It means not at any time in your life. When you say I have never visited Japan, you mean you have not been there at any time in your life.

Here is the full pattern:

Type	Form	Example
Positive	have/has + past participle	I have visited Paris.
Negative	have/has + never + past participle	I have never visited Tokyo.
Question	Have/Has + subject + ever + past participle?	Have you ever visited London?
Short answer	Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.	Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.

Notice the position of the words. In a question, ever comes after the subject: Have you ever been to Spain? In a negative sentence, never comes right after have/has: I have never been to Spain.

Also remember the agreement: I, you, we, they → have. He, she, it → has. So we say She has never been to Spain but They have never been to Spain. In short answers, we always use have: Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.

Generating translation…

I have visited Paris twice in my life.

Positive form: have + past participle.

I have never visited Tokyo, but I want to go.

Negative form with 'never': have + never + past participle.

Required

Look at the negative sentence above. What word comes right after 'have'?

never
ever
not

Required

I ___ never been to Japan.

Required

Have you ___ visited London?

Required

Which sentence is correct?

I have ever visited Rome.
I have never visited Rome.
I never have visited Rome.

Required

The sentence 'I have been to Paris last year.' is correct.

Required

Put the words in the correct order to make a question.

Have
you
ever
visited
France
?

Required

Drag the correct word into each gap to complete the sentences.

never
visited
never
ever

I have been to Japan.

She has many countries.

Have you travelled abroad?

They have seen the sea.

Listening

5 cards

You will hear a short conversation between two friends, Emma and Tom. They are talking about travel — about countries they have visited and countries they want to visit. Listen carefully: they use the present perfect with ever and never in their questions and answers. This is real English for talking about your life.

Before you listen, think about this: when you ask a friend Have you ever been to [a country]?, what do you want to know? You want to know if they went there at any time in their life. You do not want to know exactly when. So the present perfect is perfect for this kind of question! It connects the past to the present in a simple way.

In the conversation, Emma asks Tom about France, Italy, and Japan. Tom asks Emma about Italy and Japan. They use ever in questions and never in negative answers. Listen for these words. Also listen for the short answers Yes, I have and No, I haven't.

After you listen, you will answer three questions:

What is the conversation about? (the gist)
Has Tom been to Italy? (specific information)
What word completes the sentence: I have never ___ Japan.? (a detail)

Listen to Emma and Tom now. You can listen more than once if you need to. Don't worry if you miss something the first time — that is normal!

Generating translation…

Emma and Tom are classmates. They are chatting about the countries they have visited.

E
Emma Hi Tom! How are you today?
T
Tom I'm fine, thanks! How about you?
E
Emma I'm good. Say, have you ever travelled abroad?
T
Tom Yes, I have! I have visited France and Germany.
E
Emma That's great! Have you ever been to Italy?
T
Tom No, I haven't. I have never been to Italy, but I want to go.
E
Emma Really? I have visited Italy. I loved Rome.
T
Tom Nice! Have you ever been to Japan?
E
Emma No, I haven't. I have never visited Japan. How about you?
T
Tom I have never been to Japan either. I want to go next year.

Required

What is the conversation about?

Their travel experiences and countries they have visited
Their school subjects and grades
Their favourite food and restaurants
Their weekend plans at home

Required

Tom has visited Italy.

Required

Complete the sentence from the conversation: 'I have never ___ Japan.'

Pronunciation

6 cards

The sound /v/ is very important in English, and it appears in three of our key words: ever, never, and visited. For many Arabic speakers, this sound is difficult because Arabic does not have a /v/ sound. Often, /v/ is replaced with /f/ (so very sounds like ferry). In this lesson, you will learn how to make the /v/ sound correctly.

To make the /v/ sound, do this: put your upper teeth on your lower lip. Now turn your voice on — feel the vibration in your throat and your lip. Push air through the small gap between your teeth and lip. Your teeth and lip should not move much.

Compare /v/ with /f/:

/f/ — upper teeth on lower lip, but no voice (no vibration).
/v/ — upper teeth on lower lip, with voice (you can feel the buzz).

Try saying these two sounds one after another: fffff-vvvvv. Feel the difference. The /v/ has the buzz; the /f/ does not. If you put your hand on your throat when you say /v/, you should feel it vibrate. When you say /f/, you should not.

Here are six common English words with /v/:

Word	Where is the /v/?
ever	ever
never	never
visited	visited
love	love
have	have
very	very

Now you try! Say each word slowly. Feel your teeth on your lip and feel the voice buzzing. Good luck!

Generating translation…

To make /v/: put your upper teeth on your lower lip and turn your voice on. You should feel a buzz. The /f/ sound uses the same mouth position, but with no voice — that is the main difference.

Required

Listen carefully. Which word do you hear?

Required

Read this word. Feel your upper teeth touch your lower lip and feel the buzz in your voice.

ever

Required

Read this word. Keep your teeth on your lip and your voice buzzing for the /v/ sound.

never

Required

Read this word. Start with a clear /v/ buzz, then say the rest of the word.

visited

Speaking

7 cards

In this section, you will practise talking about your travel experiences. You will learn some useful phrases, hear a short model conversation, repeat the key sentences, and finally have a real conversation with Tom, your AI classmate. The goal is to feel comfortable using the present perfect with ever and never when you speak.

Here are some useful phrases for talking about travel:

English	When to use it
Have you ever travelled abroad?	To ask if someone has been to a foreign country
I have visited [place].	To say you went to a place at some time
I have never been to [place].	To say you have not been to a place
I want to visit [place] one day.	To talk about a place you want to go
Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.	Short answers to present perfect questions

Listen to the model conversation between Emma and Tom. They ask each other about travel experiences and answer with the phrases above. Notice how they use ever in questions and never in negative answers. Then repeat the key sentences to practise your pronunciation.

When you are ready, start a live conversation with Tom. He will ask you about your travel experiences — answer him naturally. Try to use ever, never, and the past participles you have learned. Don't worry about mistakes — they are part of learning! The more you speak, the more natural you will sound.

Good luck and have fun!

Generating translation…

A short model conversation. Listen to how Emma and Tom use 'ever' and 'never' to talk about travel.

E
Emma Have you ever travelled abroad, Tom?
T
Tom Yes, I have. I visited Spain last year.
E
Emma Nice! Have you ever been to Asia?
T
Tom No, I haven't. But I want to visit Japan one day.
E
Emma That sounds amazing! Have you ever stayed in a hotel by the sea?
T
Tom Yes, I have. I stayed in a hotel in Greece.

Have you ever travelled abroad?

A key question for starting a conversation about travel. 'Ever' comes after the subject 'you'.

Required

Read this question aloud. Use a friendly, rising intonation at the end.

Have you ever visited another country?

Required

Read this answer aloud. Say 'never' with a small stress to make it clear.

I have never been to Japan, but I want to go one day.

Required

You're chatting with Tom, a new classmate. He wants to know about your travel experiences. Use 'ever' and 'never' to ask and answer his questions. Try to mention two or three countries you have visited or want to visit. Take turns and speak naturally.

Required

I CAN use the present perfect with ever and never
I CAN talk about life experiences

Vocabulary

6 cards

When you talk about travel, you need some special words. In this lesson, you will meet eight useful words about travel and trips. These words will help you describe where you went, where you stayed, what you did, and what you want to do in the future.

Here are the words:

Word	Type	Example
abroad	adverb	I want to travel abroad next year.
flight	noun	The flight to London is three hours.
hotel	noun	We stayed in a small hotel by the beach.
beach	noun	The beach in Spain is beautiful.
museum	noun	I love visiting museums in every city.
journey	noun	The journey was long but very nice.
visited	verb (past participle)	I have visited five countries.
travelled	verb (past participle)	She has travelled all over Europe.

Notice that visited and travelled are past participles. They are the words you need after have/has to make the present perfect. For example: I have visited Paris or He has travelled to Japan. The other words are nouns and adverbs that you use to talk about travel.

You will use these words when you answer questions like Have you ever travelled abroad? and Have you ever visited a museum?. Try to learn them well — they will make your English sound much more natural when you talk about your life.

In the next practice, you will match these words to their meanings, hear a sentence, and choose the right word for each situation. Good luck!

Generating translation…

Eight useful words for talking about travel. You will see them in the table, hear them, and use them in sentences.

abroad əˈbrɔːd
In or to a foreign country; outside one's own country. It refers to being in or going to another nation.
beach biːtʃ
An area of sand or small stones beside the sea or a lake where people go to relax or play.
flight flaɪt
A journey made by air, especially in an aircraft. Also refers to the act or process of flying through the air.
hotel
a building where travelers pay to sleep.
journey ˈdʒɜːni
A journey is a long trip from one place to another, especially when you travel a considerable distance.
museum mjuˈziːəm
A building where objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited fo
travelled ˈtɹævəld
Went on a journey from one place to another, especially to a distant place.
visited ˈvɪzɪtɪd
Went to see someone or a place, especially for a short period of time.