6 Minute Grammar — Present perfect with ever and never

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Six Minute Grammar from bbclearningenglish.com Hello. Welcome to 6 Minute Grammar with me, Finn. And me, Alice. Hello. And today we're talking about the present perfect tense. That's right. The present perfect tense. When we use it, how to form it, how to make negatives and questions. We'll look at the words ever and never. And we'll have some pronunciation tips. And there'll be a quiz at the end of the show. So keep listening. Let's get started with some present perfect sentences. Hello Catherine. Hello. Some example sentences please. I've seen Miley Cyrus in concert. Janie has travelled all over the world. Thank you, Catherine. Welcome. So, one way we use the present perfect tense is to talk about life experience – things we've done at some time in the past. That's right. And we make the present perfect tense with a subject plus have or has plus a past participle. Once more please, Catherine. I've seen Miley Cyrus in concert. Janie has travelled all over the world. Now, we don't say when this experience happened because with the present perfect we are interested in the experience itself. That's right. The present perfect often focuses on what happened, not when it happened. OK, so Finn, ask me a question about something I've done. OK. Have you seen Skyfall? Have I seen Skyfall? The James Bond film. That's the one. Yes, I have. I've seen it three times. Three times, eh? So with the present perfect, we don't say when, but we can say how many times the experience happened. Now, let's look at ever and never. They basically mean at any time in someone's life. Ever is very common in questions. Alice, have you ever eaten sushi? Yes, I have. I love sushi. Me too. And Alice, have you ever ridden a camel? No, I have never ridden a camel. Well, actually neither have I. And we use never to talk about life experiences that we haven't had. Alice has never ridden a camel. Though I think you should try it. I hear it's fun. No, really. Let's do it together. Yes, OK. Let's look at pronunciation. We use lots of short forms with present perfect. First, I have is often shortened to I've. I have read that book becomes... I've read that book. And has becomes just a s or a z sound. So instead of Janie has travelled, it's... Janie's travelled. And as for negatives, we make them by putting not between have or has and the past participle. But we can shorten have not to haven't and has not to hasn't. Catherine. I haven't seen all the Bond films. Rachel hasn't taught English in Japan. Now, in sentences with never, the subject and have or has can be shortened. I have becomes I've and he has becomes he's. Catherine. I've never heard of sport lobster. Poor Alice. She's never ridden a camel. And we're talking about the present perfect tense. Alice, now ask me a question about my life experiences. OK. Finn, have you seen Skyfall? Well, a negative answer would be no, I haven't. But my answer is yes, I have. Guess how many times I've seen Skyfall. OK, I think you've seen it five times. No, not five times. OK, how many times have you seen Skyfall? I've seen Skyfall 20 times. Really? Yeah, I watched the DVD last night. I saw it on TV last week. You know, I saw it at the cinema when it first came out about five times. We get the picture. When we answer a present perfect question about our experience, we can add a past simple sentence to give more information, like saying when the experience happened. Quiz time? Yeah. OK. So, here's question one and play along at home if you like. Alice, you have to answer with never. Right, OK. OK. So, have you ever seen a ghost? No, I've never seen a ghost. Are you sure? Maybe. Now for question two, answer with times. How many times have you eaten sushi? Oh, I've eaten sushi about a million times. About a million times, really? Only a million. About that. Now for question three, I need a short answer. OK. Have you ever visited BBC Learning English on Facebook? Yes, I have. OK, me too. And as well as on our Facebook page, you can find lots more information about the present perfect tense on our website at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Grammar. Bye. Bye.