Have You Ever...? — Experiences (details in past simple)

B1 — grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading, writing, speaking

Kenji: Have you ever been to Europe, Sofía?

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.

• ★ be · was/were · been — estar / haber estado
• ★ see · saw · seen — ver
• i-o-en break · broke · broken — romper(se)
• i-o-en drive · drove · driven — conducir
• i-a-u sing · sang · sung — cantar
• 2 forms meet · met · met — conocer
• 2 forms win · won · won — ganar
• 2 forms lose · lost · lost — perder

• 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

1. Have you ever ___ to Europe? (been, went, go)
2. Yes, I have. I ___ in 2020. (have gone, went, have been)
3. I have ___ seen snow in my life. (ever, yet, never)
4. After 'Yes, I have', we tell the details (when, where) in past simple.
5. 'Ever' is used in affirmative sentences: 'I have ever been to Peru'.
6. Has Ben ever ___ (break) a bone?
7. Yes, he has. He ___ (break) his arm last year.
8. Abuela Carmen won the competition. It ___ (be) in 1975.
9. Unscramble: have, you, ever, sung, karaoke
10. Unscramble: I, have, never, driven, a, motorcycle
11. Find the mistake: Have you ever went to Europe?
12. Find the mistake: Yes, I have. I have gone to Madrid in 2020.
13. Find the mistake: She has never wons a prize.
14. You have met a famous person. — Write the experience question (use 'ever').
15. Have you ever seen snow? — Answer No with 'never'.
16. Have you ever been to Europe? (Yes — Madrid, 2020) — Answer with the short answer + the detail in past simple.
17. I have never sung karaoke. — Write the affirmative form.
18. Kenji has tried hormigas culonas. — Write it with 'never'.
19. Have you ever lost your phone? (short answer)
20. 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.

• Sofía went to Madrid in 2020.
• Ben has never broken a bone.
• Abuela Carmen met the writer in 1982.
• Kenji has met many famous people.