Sofía: Yes, I have. I went to Madrid in 2020, for a design conference.
Ben: Have you ever broken a bone? I have... I broke my arm last year. I fell off a hammock. A hammock, Kenji.
Abuela Carmen: I have never broken anything. But have you ever won a cumbia competition? I did — in 1975.
Common mistake: “Have you ever went to Europe?” — Correct: “Have you ever been to Europe?”
'Have you ever...?' asks if something happened in your life at least once — and when the answer is yes, you tell the details in past simple: Yes, I have. I went in 2020.
The experience question — and the switch to past
Piece
Structure
Example
The question
Have you ever + participle?
Have you ever been to Europe?
Yes → details in PAST
Yes, I have. + past simple story
Yes, I have. I went in 2020.
No
No, I haven't. / I have never + participle
I have never seen snow
ever
only in questions
Have you ever won a prize?
never
negative idea in affirmative form
She has never driven a motorcycle
Why two tenses?
perfect = your life · past = the specific moment
I have been to Europe · I went in 2020
★ be · was/were · been — experience being in or visiting a destination
★ see · saw · seen — view or witness with your own eyes
★ eat · ate · eaten — sample or consume unusual cuisine
★ travel · traveled · traveled — journey to different cities or countries
★ try · tried · tried — attempt or sample an unfamiliar activity
★ meet · met · met — encounter and get to know a person
★ fly · flew · flown — travel high through the air in an aircraft
★ ride · rode · ridden — sit on and control a bike, horse, or vehicle
I have been to Europe. I went to Madrid in 2020.
Ben has broken his arm. He fell off a hammock last year.
Abuela Carmen has won a cumbia competition. It was in 1975.
Kenji has sung karaoke in three languages.
I have never seen snow.
Sofía has never driven a motorcycle.
They haven't met a famous person.
Have you ever been to Europe?
Has Ben ever broken a bone?
Have you ever lost your keys at midnight?
Have you ever been to Europe? Yes, I have. I went in 2020.
Have you ever sung karaoke? No, I haven't.
Has she ever won a prize? Yes, she has. She won it in 1975.
Practice
Have you ever ___ to Europe? (been, went, go)
Yes, I have. I ___ in 2020. (have gone, went, have been)
I have ___ seen snow in my life. (ever, yet, never)
After 'Yes, I have', we tell the details (when, where) in past simple.
'Ever' is used in affirmative sentences: 'I have ever been to Peru'.
Has Ben ever ___ (break) a bone?
Yes, he has. He ___ (break) his arm last year.
Abuela Carmen won the competition. It ___ (be) in 1975.
Unscramble: have, you, ever, sung, karaoke
Unscramble: I, have, never, driven, a, motorcycle
Find the mistake: Have you ever went to Europe?
Find the mistake: Yes, I have. I have gone to Madrid in 2020.
Find the mistake: She has never wons a prize.
You have met a famous person. — Write the experience question (use 'ever').
Have you ever seen snow? — Answer No with 'never'.
Have you ever been to Europe? (Yes — Madrid, 2020) — Answer with the short answer + the detail in past simple.
I have never sung karaoke. — Write the affirmative form.
Kenji has tried hormigas culonas. — Write it with 'never'.
Have you ever lost your phone? (short answer)
Have you ever driven a Formula 1 car? (short answer, No)
Listening
Kenji: Question game! Have you ever sung karaoke, Sofía?
Sofía: Yes, I have. I sang 'Vivir Mi Vida' at my cousin's wedding in 2023. Twice.
Ben: Have you ever won anything, Kenji?
Kenji: Yes, I have! I won a photography contest when I was fifteen.
Sofía: And you, Abuela? Have you ever met anyone famous?
Abuela Carmen: Yes, I have. I met Gabriel García Márquez at a market in 1982. He bought mangoes. I sold them to him.
Reading
Kenji's blog, this week: 'Have you ever...? — The interview'. I asked my three favorite people about their lives. Sofía has been to Europe: she went to Madrid in 2020 for a conference and she loved the museums. Ben has broken three bones in his life: he broke the last one when he fell off a hammock — nobody knows how it was possible. And Abuela Carmen? She has met a Nobel Prize winner. 'I met him in 1982,' she told me. 'He bought my mangoes and said they were the best in Colombia.' I have never met anyone famous... but I have met Abuela Carmen, and I think that counts.