When talking about a life experience, we can use the present perfect. We do not say when it happened because we are more interested in the experience, than the time or date.
Example: My friend has seen The Good Dinosaur movie.
If we want to say when the experience happened in the past, we use the past simple.
Example: She watched the newest The Good Dinosaur movies last week.
We often use the present perfect with the words ever and never.
Example: Have you ever fallen in love? No, Sadly I've never been in love.
We can answer these questions with Yes, I have or No, I haven't
If we want to say how many times we have done something, we can use the present perfect, or we can add a past simple sentence with an expression of time or place.
Example: Have you ever fallen in love? Yes, I have actually been in love twice.
Have you ever fallen in love? Yes, I have. I fell in love twice with different women when i was in Japan.
We use the present perfect when things that happened in the recent past are important now
Example: Oh no! I have lost my wedding ring ... My wife will kill me!
We use the past simple to say when the action happened.
Example: I lost my wedding ring last night.
We use the present perfect for situations that started in the past and are still happening now.
Example: I have not seen my husband this morning.( It is still this morning)
We use the past simple for situations that started and finished in the past.
Example: I did not see my husband this morning. (It is this afternoon or evening now.)
We have been in a relationship since 2002.
I have known him since we were children.
Example: My friend has seen The Good Dinosaur movie.
If we want to say when the experience happened in the past, we use the past simple.
Example: She watched the newest The Good Dinosaur movies last week.
We often use the present perfect with the words ever and never.
Example: Have you ever fallen in love? No, Sadly I've never been in love.
We can answer these questions with Yes, I have or No, I haven't
If we want to say how many times we have done something, we can use the present perfect, or we can add a past simple sentence with an expression of time or place.
Example: Have you ever fallen in love? Yes, I have actually been in love twice.
Have you ever fallen in love? Yes, I have. I fell in love twice with different women when i was in Japan.
We use the present perfect when things that happened in the recent past are important now
Example: Oh no! I have lost my wedding ring ... My wife will kill me!
We use the past simple to say when the action happened.
Example: I lost my wedding ring last night.
We use the present perfect for situations that started in the past and are still happening now.
Example: I have not seen my husband this morning.( It is still this morning)
We use the past simple for situations that started and finished in the past.
Example: I did not see my husband this morning. (It is this afternoon or evening now.)
HOW LONG QUESTIONS
We sometimes use the present perfect in these questions.
Example: How long have you lived with your boyfriend?
We talk about how long with the words for (meaning throughout a period of time) and since (meaning from a point of time to now - this can be a date or a past simple phrase)
Example: We have lived together for three years. We have been in a relationship since 2002.
I have known him since we were children.
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