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  • Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson, you're going to start using the present perfect

  • tense right away in an easy way. Now, a lot of students get a little bit scared of using

  • the present perfect tense, but you don't have to be, especially after this lesson. I think

  • you'll find an easy way to use it, and a reason to use it. Okay?

  • So, first of all, just very quickly: What's the present perfect tense?

  • It sounds like this.

  • It sounds like: "I have skated." or "I have flown." Right? So, what does that

  • mean? When I say: "I have skated many times in my life." it means that at some time in

  • the past, I did something and it's still true today. Okay? So just as we can talk about

  • things that we have done in our lives... For example: "I have seen that movie.",

  • "I have read that book." Correct?

  • The same way, you can also talk about what you have never done,

  • because I'm sure that there are some things that you've never done, just like there are

  • some things I've never done. So, we can use the present perfect to describe these actions

  • as well. So, I'll show you what I mean? Okay? There are many good examples on the board.

  • So, let's look at this. So, for example, with that sentence that I gave you at the beginning:

  • "I have skated many times in my life." Now, actually, that's not true. I have never skated,

  • okay? Even though I live in Canada, I have never skated. So, that is how we can use the

  • present perfect tense with the word "never". So, "skated" is a regular verb. Regular verb

  • means that in the past tense we add a "d" or an "ed".

  • "Flown" is an irregular verb,

  • so when we use it with the present perfect, we use the past participle. There's usually

  • like a third form, there's a long list, you kind of have to learn by heart, when you're

  • in school, when you're learning the present perfect, and you can practice it here because

  • you'll see many examples that I've written for you on the board.

  • So, here, we put the word "never" just before this last verb. Okay? So: "I have never skated.",

  • "I have never flown." Okay? What do I mean by "flown"? So, for example, flown by airli-...

  • By air. That's not true. In my case, I have travelled. But there are many people in the

  • world who have never had a chance to travel by air, so they... That person could say:

  • "I have never flown by air." Okay? All right.

  • So, let's look at many examples so you'll understand how to say something like this.

  • So, here I've got all the subjects, here we have the word "never", and here we have many

  • regular verbs, and here, many irregular verbs. So let's make a lot of different sentences

  • so you can hear the pattern of this type of sentence, as well as understanding the grammar

  • of it. So, here we have the subject: "I've". What is "I've"? "I've" is short for "I have".

  • Right? But when we are speaking in conversational English,

  • usually we don't say: "I have never flown."

  • or "I have never eaten..." No. We just say: "I've". Okay? So that's a contraction.

  • All of these are contractions that we use in regular conversational English.

  • So, let's make some sentences, now. "I've never visited China." Okay? So, here, we had

  • the subject, the word "never", the verb, regular verb, past tense form, and some more information.

  • Right? "I've never visited China.", "You've never talked to him before.",

  • "So why are you talking to him now?" somebody might say. Okay.

  • "We've never tried Korean food.",

  • "They've never played so well."

  • Let's say you're talking about a team, a sports team. Okay?

  • "He's never worked so much.",

  • "She's never lived alone." Okay? I'm going to give you this last one

  • in a... In a few minutes.

  • Let's take some of this... These examples, here. These are with irregular verbs. Right?

  • "I've never felt so happy.",

  • "You've never heard their music.",

  • "We've never eaten there before."

  • There, probably a restaurant. Right? "They've never seen that movie.",

  • "He's never slept so late.",

  • "She's never written to me before." Okay?

  • So, you see that with all of these subjects, we can use

  • the word "never" very easily. All right? You're using present

  • perfect, you're using "never" to talk about something that not at one time in your life

  • have you done before.

  • So let's see how to use it now with "It's". Okay? What kind of sentences can we make with

  • that? Let's say, for example: "It's never rained so heavily." Now, sometimes we use

  • the word "before". Okay? Or you can just say: "It's never rained so heavily. Wow. Look at...

  • Look at the weather, it's never rained so heavily." Or: "It's never rained so heavily before."

  • It means in all the time in the past till now. That's present perfect. It's always

  • talking about all the time in the past, including now. Or:

  • "It's never snowed so hard." Okay?

  • So, here's one example. Another example:

  • "It's never taken me so long to drive home." for example.

  • That's an irregular verb, here, "taken". Or, as you can say, I hope you'll say:

  • "It's never been so easy to learn English." Okay?

  • So, if you'd like to practice this, please go to our website: www.engvid.com.

  • There, you can do a quiz on this and many other topics in English.

  • And also, if you would like to get regular lessons to improve your English much faster,

  • subscribe to my YouTube channel.

  • Okay? Thanks for watching. Bye for now.

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson, you're going to start using the present perfect

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A2 present perfect flown perfect tense tense present perfect

English Grammar: Using PRESENT PERFECT Tense with 'NEVER'

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    翰隆 posted on 2015/12/03
Video vocabulary

Keywords

present

US /ˈprɛznt/

UK /'preznt/

  • other
  • To give, provide, or show something to somebody
  • To give something to someone formally or ceremonially.
  • To give (something) to someone, especially formally or as a gift.
  • Introduce (someone) to someone else.
  • Give or offer (something) to someone.
  • To put on a performance or show.
  • To show or display something.
  • adjective
  • Being in a particular place.
  • Being in a particular place.
  • Being in a particular place; attending or existing.
  • Being in attendance; being there; having turned up
  • Existing or occurring now.
  • Being in a particular place; existing or occurring now.
  • Existing or occurring now.
  • other
  • Be in a particular place.
  • To be in a particular place.
  • To be in a particular place.
  • noun
  • Gift
  • Verb tense indicating an action is happening now
  • Current time; now
  • The period of time now occurring.
  • verb
  • To introduce someone to others
  • To host a program on television or radio
  • To give a speech or presentation
  • To show something to someone who will examine it
  • To appear or happen
  • To give an award or prize to someone
  • other
  • The period of time now occurring.
practice

US /ˈpræktɪs/

UK /'præktɪs/

  • other
  • To carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly.
  • To carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly.
  • To perform an activity or exercise a skill repeatedly in order to improve or maintain proficiency.
  • To perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency.
  • To do something repeatedly so as to become skilled at it.
  • noun
  • A customary way of doing something.
  • A usual or customary action or proceeding.
  • A doctor's or lawyer's business.
  • Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
  • The customary, habitual, or expected procedure or way of doing of something.
  • The office and place for legal or medical work
  • Doing something many times to become better at it
  • other
  • A customary way of doing something.
  • The business or work of a professional person, such as a doctor or lawyer.
  • other
  • The customary, habitual, or expected procedure or way of doing something.
  • Repeated exercise of an activity or skill in order to improve or maintain proficiency.
  • Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
  • Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
  • other
  • Work at or be engaged in (a profession).
  • verb
  • To perform an activity or exercise a skill repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency.
  • To work as a doctor or lawyer
  • To live according to the teachings of a religion
  • To do something many times to improve a skill
sentence

US /ˈsɛntəns/

UK /'sentəns/

  • noun
  • Official punishment given by a court of law
  • Set of words that make a whole statement
  • verb
  • (Of a judge) to decide the punishment of
subject

US /ˈsʌbdʒekt/

UK /'sʌbdʒɪkt/

  • noun
  • Citizen of an area or country
  • The person or thing that does the action of a verb
  • People who take part in experiments or tests
  • An area of study at school, e.g. math, history
  • What a book, article etc. is about; theme
  • verb
  • To cause to suffer or experience something
board

US /bɔrd, bord/

UK /bɔ:d/

  • noun
  • Surface for posting or showing information
  • Group of persons who direct an organization
  • Long piece of material used for riding the waves
  • A group of people who manage or govern a company or organization.
  • A long, thin, flat piece of wood or other material, used for various purposes.
  • Long thin piece of wood, used for building; plank
  • other
  • To cover (a window, opening, etc.) with boards.
  • To get on or into (a ship, aircraft, train, or other vehicle).
  • To provide with regular meals and lodging in return for payment or other consideration.
  • To provide with regular meals in return for payment or services.
  • other
  • Meals provided regularly for payment; food and lodging.
  • Meals provided regularly for payment, especially when living somewhere.
  • verb
  • To enter a ship, plane, or other vehicle
  • To cover with long wooden strips of wood
  • To pay money to live in someone's house; lodge
English

US /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/

UK /ˈɪŋglɪʃ/

  • adjective
  • Relating to England, its people, or its language.
  • Relating to England or its people or language.
  • Of or relating to England, its people, or their language.
  • Concerning the culture and people of England
  • noun
  • A course of study focusing on the English language and literature.
  • Language of the UK, USA, Nigeria and elsewhere
  • A person from England.
  • A style or manner characteristic of England.
  • A version of something translated into the English language.
  • Person's name
  • other
  • The English language.
  • other
  • The English language.
  • other
  • To translate into English.
regular

US /ˈrɛɡjəlɚ/

UK /ˈregjələ(r)/

  • adjective
  • Conforming to a principle or rule.
  • Doing something often; habitual
  • Having an equal amount of space or time in between
  • Following the normal pattern of inflection.
  • Belonging to a permanent army rather than a reserve or militia.
  • Normal; typical
  • Having parts or features arranged in a symmetrical or consistent way.
  • Occurring or being done frequently
  • Recurring at fixed intervals.
  • Symmetrical or well-proportioned
  • Of medium size.
  • Being normal, usual, or average
  • Usual or ordinary.
  • noun
  • A person who frequently visits a place or does something.
  • A full-time member of a group or organization
  • A person who frequently visits a place or does something.
  • Customers who frequently visit a place
  • Soldier who has a permanent job in the army
word

US /wɚd/

UK /wɜ:d/

  • noun
  • Unit of language that has a meaning
  • Promise
  • Short remark or piece of information
  • verb
  • To express something by choosing particular words
perfect

US /ˈpɚfɪkt/

UK /'pɜ:fɪkt/

  • adjective
  • Complete; utter.
  • Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.
  • (of a tense) denoting a completed action or an action prior to a specified time.
  • So good it cannot be improved
  • Exactly suitable; ideal.
  • verb
  • To do something so well, it cannot be done better
  • other
  • Bring (something) to the required or desirable state.
verb

US /vɚb/

UK /və:b/

  • noun
  • A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence.
  • Word that expresses an action or state
  • other
  • To convert a word into a verb.