Describing Life Experiences in Conversation.

This lesson helps you talk about your life experiences, from travel and study to work and personal achievements. You read and listen to people comparing what they have and have not done in life, and you notice how they use expressions like have you ever, I have never and I have just. You then contrast these general experiences with specific past events using clear time markers. Speaking activities invite you to interview classmates or course characters about places they have visited, jobs they have done or important milestones in their lives. You also practise using already, yet and just in short conversations and messages. By the end, you can talk naturally about what you have done so far, ask others about their experiences and link these to particular times in the past.

1. Listening to classmates talk about experiences.

In this first part of the lesson, I would like you to step into a very real situation. Imagine it is the first evening on your international English course. There is a welcome party, people are eating snacks, and you start talking to the person standing next to you. Very quickly, the conversation moves to life experiences: places you have visited, things you have done, and things you have not done yet. In a moment, you will listen to two new classmates, Ana and Marco, doing exactly this. While you listen, do not worry about every single word. Listen for the big picture. Which places have they visited? What things have they done in their lives so far? Which things have they never done? You will hear questions with the pattern 'Have you ever...?' and answers like 'Yes, I have' or 'No, I have never...'. First, listen once just to follow the story. Then listen a second time so you can answer a few specific questions about Ana and Marco.

Setting the scene.

You are at a small welcome party on the first day of an international English course. People are smiling, introducing themselves and asking about each other's lives. Very quickly, the conversation goes to travel, studies and work experiences.

Two classmates, Ana and Marco, start talking. They do not know each other, so they use simple but powerful questions to discover each other's life experiences.

They do not ask:

• Did you go to London?

Instead, they often ask more general questions like:

• Have you ever been to London?
• Have you ever travelled to South America?
• Have you ever lived in another country?

These questions are perfect when you are interested in someone's life so far, not just one specific trip or day.

Language focus: life experience questions.

Listen for these useful patterns in Ana and Marco's conversation:

• Questions:

Have you ever been to ...?

Have you ever lived in ...?

Have you ever visited ...?

• Positive answers:

Yes, I have.

Yes, I have. I've been to London twice.

• Negative answers:

No, I have never been to South America.

No, I haven't been there yet.

Notice that we do not normally say a time word like yesterday or in 2019 in these general life experience sentences. We are talking about life in general, not one specific moment.

Later in the lesson, you will learn how to connect these general experiences to specific past events with time expressions.

Listening task.

You are going to hear Ana and Marco having their first conversation at the party. While you listen, try to answer these questions in your head:

1. Has Marco ever been to South America?
2. How many times has Ana been to London?
3. What has Marco just started?
4. In which two countries (not Brazil) has Ana lived?

You will answer these questions in writing after you listen.

Practice & Feedback

Now listen to Ana and Marco's conversation. First, just relax and follow the story. Then listen a second time and get ready to answer in writing.

After listening twice, answer the four questions below in full sentences, not just single words. Try to use the same kind of grammar you heard, for example 'He has never...', 'She has been...', 'He has just started...'.

Write your answers underneath, clearly numbered 1 to 4:

1. Has Marco ever been to South America?
2. How many times has Ana been to London?
3. What has Marco just started?
4. In which two countries (not Brazil) has Ana lived?

Do not worry if your spelling is not perfect, but try to be as accurate as you can. When you finish, submit your four sentences. I will check if you understood the conversation and help you correct any grammar connected to life experiences.

2. Using have you ever and I have never.

You have now heard Ana and Marco talking about their lives so far. Let us look more closely at the questions and answers they used. These are very useful patterns for talking about life experiences in English. We often start with a question like 'Have you ever been to London?' or 'Have you ever lived in another country?'. That little word 'ever' means 'at any time in your life up to now'. To answer, we usually say something like 'Yes, I have' or 'No, I never have', and then we can give more information: 'Yes, I have. I've been there twice.' In this block, you will notice these patterns and then use them to talk about your own experiences. You will write some true sentences about yourself using 'I have...' and 'I have never...', and you will write your own 'Have you ever...?' questions that you could ask a new classmate.

Noticing the patterns.

From Ana and Marco's conversation, we can take some powerful model sentences:

• Have you ever been to South America?
• No, I have never been to South America.
• Have you ever been to London?
• Yes, I have. I've been there twice.
• Have you ever lived in another country?
• Yes, I have. I've lived in Portugal and Canada.

These are examples of very common questions and answers about life experiences.

Form: questions and answers.

Look at the structure:

• Question: Have + subject + ever + past participle...?
• Have you ever been to London?
• Have you ever met a famous person?

• Short answers:
• Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.
• Yes, she has. / No, she hasn't.

• Longer answers:
• Yes, I have. I've been to London twice.
• No, I have never flown in a plane.

We normally use 'ever' in the question and 'never' in a negative answer:

• Have you ever tried sushi?
• No, I have never tried sushi.

We also use 'never' instead of 'not ever'.

Meaning: life so far.

We use these patterns when we want to talk about someone's life in general, not one specific time. For example:

• I've visited many countries. (general experience)
• I went to Italy in 2018. (one specific trip with a time)

In this block you will practise both saying what you have done and saying what you have never done.

Think about your own life for a moment. Which things below are true for you?

• visit another continent
• meet a famous person
• fly in a plane
• study or work abroad
• go to a big festival

You will now write some true sentences and some questions using these ideas.

Practice & Feedback

Now it is your turn to use these patterns for your own life.

First, write four true sentences about your life experiences. Use:

• at least one sentence with 'I have...' (something you have done), and
• at least one sentence with 'I have never...' (something you have not done).

For example:

I have visited three different countries.

I have never flown in a plane.

Then write four 'Have you ever...?' questions that you would like to ask a new classmate. Use ideas from your own life, or from the list on the screen, such as travel, study, work or festivals. For example:

Have you ever studied abroad?

Have you ever been to a big music festival?

Write your eight sentences clearly and number them 1–8. Try to use correct word order and remember to use 'have' or 'has' after the subject. When you submit, I will check your sentences, help you correct any problems and, for a couple of your questions, I will even answer as if I were your new classmate.

3. Adding already, yet and just to your stories.

So far you have worked with 'have you ever', 'I have' and 'I have never' to talk about life experiences. Now we are going to add three very common little words that make your English sound much more natural: 'already', 'yet' and 'just'. You heard one example in Marco's sentence: 'I have just started my first full-time job.' These adverbs connect your experiences more clearly to the present moment. 'Already' tells us that something happened earlier than we expected. 'Yet' in negatives and questions shows that something has not happened up to now, but it might happen in the future. 'Just' shows that something happened a very short time ago. In this block, you will see clear examples of each word, notice where it goes in the sentence, and then create your own sentences using ideas from your real life.

Three very useful adverbs.

Look again at one sentence from Marco:

• I've just started my first full-time job.

Here, 'just' tells us that this is a recent event. It happened very close to now.

We often use three adverbs with the present perfect:

• already – something happened earlier than we expected
• yet – something has not happened up to now (in negatives and questions)
• just – something happened a very short time ago

Form: where do they go?.

Look at these examples:

• I have already finished my homework.
• She has already seen that film.
• I haven't seen that film yet.
• We haven't decided yet.
• I've just started a new job.
• He has just arrived at the station.

Common patterns are:

• have/has + already + past participle
• have/has + just + past participle
• haven't/hasn't + past participle + yet

We usually put 'already' and 'just' between 'have/has' and the past participle. We normally put 'yet' at the end of the sentence in negatives.

Meaning: connecting to now.

These adverbs link the past action to the present moment:

• I have already eaten. → I do not need food now.
• I haven't eaten yet. → I am still hungry now.
• I've just eaten. → It happened very recently.

Think about your own life at the moment:

• What things have you already done this week?
• What things have you not done yet but you plan to do?
• What have you just done in the last hour or two?

You will now make some clear sentences using these ideas.

Practice & Feedback

Use the ideas and patterns on the screen to write full sentences with already, yet and just.

Below you will see some simple prompts such as 'your homework / finish / already'. For each prompt, write one complete sentence in the present perfect. Follow these steps:

1. Decide on a logical subject (I, we, my friend, etc.).
2. Choose the correct form of 'have' or 'has'.
3. Add the adverb in the correct place (already, yet or just).
4. Use a natural past participle.

For example, for 'your homework / finish / already' you could write:

I have already finished my homework.

Write at least five sentences, one for each prompt, and feel free to change the subject to make them true for you. You can also add one or two extra sentences from your own ideas if you like. When you submit, I will check your use of already, yet and just, and I will help you correct any small errors.

4. Linking experiences with specific past events.

You now have a good set of tools to talk about your life in general: 'I have visited many countries', 'I have never flown in a plane', 'I have just started a new job'. However, in real conversations we often want to connect these general experiences to one or two **specific** stories. For that, we usually move from the present perfect to the past simple with a clear time expression. For example, Ana can say, 'I have been to London twice.' That is a general life experience. But then she adds details: 'I first went there when I was sixteen, and I went again last year for work.' In this block, you will see how to make this connection and then practise it with a short text about another student, and with a few sentences about your own life.

General experience vs specific event.

So far we have focused on sentences like:

• I have visited many countries.
• I have never flown in a plane.
• I have already finished my homework.

These sentences describe your life so far, without saying exactly when something happened.

When we move to a specific story, we normally use the past simple and add a clear time expression. Compare:

• I have been to London twice. (general life experience)
• I first went there when I was sixteen. (specific event with time)
• I went again last year for work. (another specific event)

Another example:

• I have been to Brazil. (experience)
• I went to Brazil in 2019 for a music festival. (one trip, clear time)

Useful questions.

We can connect these two ideas with questions:

• Have you ever been to Brazil?
• Yes, I have. I went there in 2019.

• Have you ever studied abroad?
• Yes, I have. I studied in Spain for a semester in 2021.

Notice how the first question and answer use present perfect for life experience, and the second sentence uses past simple with a time expression.

Time expressions to use with the past simple.

Some common time expressions for specific past events are:

• yesterday, last week, last year, last summer
• in 2019, in May, in January
• when I was a child, when I was at school
• two years ago, three months ago

In the activity, you will read about another student and answer questions that help you move between general experiences and specific events. Then you will write a few sentences about your own experiences using both patterns.

Practice & Feedback

Read the short profile carefully. It shows both general life experience and specific past events.

Then do two things:

1. Answer the questions about Sam. Write full sentences, not just one word. Try to use present perfect when you talk about general experience and past simple when you give specific times.
2. Write about yourself. After the questions, write three sentences about your own experiences:

• one sentence with present perfect about a general life experience (for example, I have visited ... or I have never ...), and
• two sentences with the past simple plus clear time expressions about specific events (for example, I went to ... in 2022, I started my job last year).

Write everything in one box. You can start a new line for each answer or sentence. When you submit, I will check your choice of tense and time expressions and help you make your stories clearer and more natural.

5. Chatting about life experiences online.

In modern life, we do not only talk about our experiences face to face. We also use messages and chats all the time: WhatsApp, Telegram, direct messages on social media and many more. The good news is that the grammar is the same. We still use patterns like 'Have you ever been to...?', 'I have never...', 'I have already...' and 'I have just...'. The difference is that messages are often shorter and more direct. In this part of the lesson, you will look at a short chat between two course participants and notice how they use the language of life experiences in a very natural, friendly way. Then you will write your own mini chat with a new classmate, asking about their experiences and sharing your own. This is excellent preparation for real messages you might write when you join an online course or meet international friends.

A sample chat between classmates.

Read this WhatsApp-style conversation between You and Rina, a new classmate on your online English course.

> You: Hi Rina! Nice to meet you here. Have you ever been to the UK?

> Rina: Hi! Nice to meet you too. No, I have never been to the UK. I would love to go one day. Have you ever visited Japan?

> You: Yes, I have. I went to Tokyo three years ago. It was the most exciting city I have ever seen.

> Rina: Wow, that sounds great. I have already visited a lot of cities in Japan, but I have not travelled much outside Asia yet.

> You: I have just started saving money for another trip. I really want to visit Japan again.

> Rina: That is a good plan. Have you ever tried Japanese festival food?

What do you notice?.

In this short chat, the language is quite informal and friendly, but the grammar is still the same as in a normal conversation.

• Questions: Have you ever been to the UK? / Have you ever visited Japan?
• General experiences: I have never been to the UK. / I have already visited a lot of cities in Japan.
• Not yet: I have not travelled much outside Asia yet.
• Recent actions: I have just started saving money...
• Specific event with time: I went to Tokyo three years ago.

Notice how the messages are quite short, and there is usually one main idea per message. This makes the chat easy to follow.

You are now going to write the messages you would send in a similar chat with a different classmate. You will imagine that your classmate is called Leo.

Practice & Feedback

Imagine you are chatting with a new classmate called Leo on an English course app. You want to get to know him and talk about your life experiences.

Write only your messages in the chat, not Leo's. Put each message on a new line or number them 1, 2, 3, etc. Aim for at least six short messages.

Include:

• at least two 'Have you ever...?' questions for Leo,
• at least one sentence with 'I have never...',
• at least one sentence with 'I have already...',
• at least one sentence with 'I have just...', and
• at least one negative with 'yet', for example I have not visited Canada yet.

Keep your messages friendly and realistic, like a real WhatsApp chat. For example, you can start with a greeting, then ask about travel, study or work experiences, and share a little about your own life.

When you submit, I will correct your messages and then show you how Leo might reply to a couple of your questions, using a similar chat style.

6. Writing a short life experience story.

You have now listened to classmates talking, noticed key patterns like 'have you ever', 'I have never', 'I have already' and 'I have just', and you have linked general life experiences to specific past events with clear time expressions. For the final step in this lesson, you are going to bring everything together in one short piece of writing. This is like telling a new classmate about your life so far in a forum post or introduction message. You will write about some important experiences you have had, and perhaps one or two things you have not done yet, and then you will choose one experience and add a few details about when it happened. I will show you a model text first, so you can see how to organise your ideas and mix the tenses correctly. Then you will write your own paragraph using the checklist. This will be your small performance task for the lesson.

A model life experience story.

Read this short text by Marta, a student on an online English course.

> My name is Marta and I am from Poland. I have always loved travelling, so I have visited quite a few countries. I have been to Spain three times and I have also visited Italy and Germany. I have never been outside Europe, but I really want to go to Japan one day. I have already started saving money for a big trip.

>

> My best holiday was in 2019, when I went to Barcelona with my sister. It was the first time I had ever seen the Sagrada Família. We arrived in July and stayed for one week. We visited the beach every day, ate a lot of delicious food and went to a music festival. I have just looked at the photos again and they still make me smile.

Why is this good?.

Marta uses a nice mix of grammar and vocabulary:

• Present perfect for general life experiences:

I have visited quite a few countries.

I have been to Spain three times.

I have never been outside Europe.

I have already started saving money...

• Past simple with time expressions for specific events:

My best holiday was in 2019, when I went to Barcelona...

We arrived in July and stayed for one week.

• Recently completed action:

I have just looked at the photos again.

She also uses some nice travel vocabulary: holiday, trip, festival, beach, photos.

Your task.

You are now going to write a similar text about your own life experiences. Use Marta's story as a model, but do not copy it. Follow the checklist in the activity to help you.

Practice & Feedback

Write a short life experience story about yourself, similar to Marta's text.

Aim for about 120–150 words. You do not need to be exactly in this range, but try to write at least one solid paragraph.

Include:

• a short introduction (your name or a little context),
• 2–4 sentences in the present perfect about your general experiences (for example, places you have visited, things you have done, things you have never done),
• at least one sentence with 'ever' or 'never',
• at least one sentence with 'already' or 'just', and
• a small story about one specific past event using the past simple with clear time expressions (for example, last year, in 2020, two years ago).

You can write about travel, study, work, festivals or any other important experiences in your life. Imagine a real situation: you are posting this in a new online class to introduce yourself.

When you submit your paragraph, I will:

• highlight good examples of present perfect and past simple,
• gently correct any important mistakes, and
• suggest 2–3 small changes to make your story clearer and more natural.