Intermediate

Unit 2 –
Experiences
 Contents
 Talk about experiences and secret dreams using the
present perfect.
 Ask about unusual experiences using present perfect
questions.
 Present perfect statements.
 Present perfect and simple past questions and answers.
 Past participles of irregular verbs.
 Keep a conversation going.
 Use “do you?”, “have you?”, etc. to show interest.
 Read a travel blog.
 Write a post for a travel blog.
 1. Hopes and dreams

1º Think of some special experiences you hope to have in the

future.

 A place you’d like to go someday.

 Something you’d love to see.
 Something you’d like to do.
 A person you’d really like to meet.

2º Listen. What is each person’s secret dream? Do you have any

secret like these?

3º How do the people above express these ideas? Find what

they say and underline the verbs.

1. Jill: I always wanted to be an actor as a child. I want to be

an actor now.
 2. Sonia: We didn’t have save enough money last year. We
don’t have enough money now.
3. Raquel: My brother even surfed in Hawai’i – exactly when
isn’t important.
4. Hiro: In the past, I went to Europe many times.

1.1 Grammar: Present Perfect statements

Use the present perfect for events at an indefinite time before

now.

Form:

Affirmative: I/You/We/They + ‘ve/have + past participle

He/she/it + ‘s/has + past participle

Negative: I/You/We/They + haven’t / have not + past participle

He/she/it + hasn’t/ has not + past participle

Regular past participles

The forms and spelling rules for regular past participles ending
in -ed are the same as for simple past verbs.

Irregular past participles

Some irregular past participles are the same as the base at the
simple past, and others are different from both the base form
and the simple past.

Use:

 For actions or events that happened at an indefinite time

in the past that still have importance in the present.
 For repeated actions at an indefinite time in the past.
 With certain time expressions that refer to “time up to
now”, such as before, never, in my life, over the past three
years, this week, up to now, just, and lately. Just and lately
are used to emphasize that something happened in the very
recent past.
 In sentences:

I’ve been to Europe. I haven’t been to Paris.

You’ve done a lot of things. You haven’t gone sailing.
We’ve had a lot of fun. We haven’t saved enough money.
They’ve traveled in Asia. They haven’t been to Europe.
He’s surfed in Hawai’i. She hasn’t tried surfing before.

The present perfect is often used with these frequency

expressions.

I’ve always wanted to study acting.

We’ve gone sailing once/twice/many times.
She’s never tried it before.

Notice how people use been and gone to talk about travel
destinations. People more frequently use been to mean "visited"
or "visited a place and returned."

I’ve been to Paris. (I went and came back)

She’s gone to Paris. (She’s still in Paris)

4º Complete the conversations with the present perfect.

1. A: I ________________ (always/want) to try rock climbing.

B: Really? Not me. I _______________ (never/want) to do it. I
_____________ (always/be) afraid of heights.
2. A: I _____________ (not see) the Grand Canyon. I really want to
go there someday.
B: Me too. My friend _____________ (be) there. She had an
amazing time.
3. A: I ____________ (go) surfing three or four times. It’s exciting.
B: Yeah? I ______________ (not try) it before. I ____________
(never do) any water sports.
4. A: My dream is to be a tennis player. I ____________ (have) a lot
of training, and I ____________ (play) with some professional
tennis players.
 B: No way! I love tennis. I ____________ (always / want) to meet
Andy Murray.
5. A: We ____________ (not travel) much, but we want to go to
Bogotá.
B: Me too. My cousin lives there. He ______________ (invite) me
to visit several times, but I _____________ (not save) enough
money to go.

5º Complete the conversations with the present perfect or

simple past.

1. A: ________ you ever _______ (hear) of kitesurfing?

B: Yes, I _______. But I __________ (never/do) anything like
that.
2. A: ________ you and your friends ever __________ (go) on a
big roller coaster?
B: No, we _________. I _________ always ________ (hate)
roller coasters.
3. A: ______ you ever _______ (stay) up all night?
B: Yes, I ________. My family ________ (go) camping two
years ago, and none of us _________ (sleep) all night.
4. A: _______ you ________ (do) anything different last
summer?
B: Yes, I _________. I _______ (learn) to play African drums.
I _______ always ________ (want) to play them. I
__________ (never/go) to Africa, though.

6º Talk about these things. Why haven’t you done them? What
has stopped you?

 Something you’ve always wanted to buy.

 A place that you’ve never been to but would like to visit.
 Something you’ve always wanted to learn how to do.
 Something else you’ve always wanted to do.
 1.2 Unusual experiences

7º Listen. Which experience do you think was scarier?

8º Unscramble the questions and complete the answers.

1. A: to Ecuador/you/been/Have/ever/?
B: Yes, I _________. I ___________ there last year.
2. A: entered/you/Have/a/talent contest/ever/?
B: No, I _________. But I ________ in a concert in May.

Present perfect X Simple past

Use the present perfect for indefinite times before now.

Have you ever gone white-water rafting?

No, I haven’t. I’ve never gone rafting.
Yes, I have. I went rafting last May.

Use the simple past for specific events or times in the past.

Did you have a good time?

Yes, I did. But I fell off the raft.

9º Use the underline words to write sentences about travel

experiences. Use the present perfect.

1. I/always/do a lot of traveling. I guess it/always/be my

main interest in life.
__________________________________________
 2. I travel with an old school friend and she/be to lots of
places.
___________________________________________
3. She and I/travel around Asia three or four times.
We/always/enjoy traveling together.
___________________________________________
4. We/walk on the Great Wall of China twice. It’s so amazing.
____________________________________________
5. We/be so lucky. We/visit some amazing places and I/try all
kinds of food.
____________________________________________
6. We’re always talking about places we would like to go.
We/think about going to Australia or India.
____________________________________________
7. My friend/not be to India because she/not have the
chance, and I/never be to Australia.
____________________________________________
8. We/not make a decision about where to go next, but I’d
really like to go to Sydney.
____________________________________________

10º Ask your classmates about these good and bad experiences.
For each question, find someone who answers yes. Write the
student’s name in the chart.

Good experiences:

Have you ever won a prize?

Have you ever gotten 100% on a test?
Have you ever spoken to a famous person?
Have you ever taken an exciting trip?
Have you ever found a wallet?
 Bad experiences:

Have you ever broken something valuable?

Have you ever lost something important?
Have you ever had the flu?
Have you ever forgotten someone’s birthday?
Have you ever fallen and hurt yourself?

11º Complete the conversations about unusual experiences. Use

the present perfect or simple past.

1. A: _______________ (you/ever/do) anything scary?

B: Yes, I __________. I ___________ (play) the piano in a big
concert last year.
A: Really? ___________ (you/play) a solo?
B: No, I ___________. Thank goodness! There ________ (be)
an orchestra, too.
2. A: _____________ (you/ever/see) the Northern Lights?
B: No, I ___________, but I ____________ (always/want) to
see them. We ___________ (go) to Alaska last year, but we
_____________ (not/see) them.
3. A: _______________ (you/ever/try) kickboxing?
B: Yes, I ___________. I _____________ (take) a class last
semester. But I ____________ (not/like) it.
4. A: _____________ (you/ever/cook) a meal for a big group of
people?
B: Yes, I __________. It ____________ (be) my sister’s
birthday last weekend. She ___________ (invite) 25 of her
friends, and we ____________ (make) Moroccan food.
A: Really? I _____________ (never/eat) Moroccan food
before. _________ (it/be) good?
B: Oh, yeah. Everybody ___________ (love) it!
 12º Complete the verb charts.
Base form Win
Simple past Won got took
Past participle Won spoken

Base form Find

Simple past lost forgot
Past participle had

Base form Fall

Simple past hurt read
Past participle written

1.3 Pronunciation practice: Reduced and unreduced

forms of have
When people ask questions using the present perfect, they often
say have in a reduced form.

A: Have you ever been to Mexico?

B: No, I haven’t. But my parents have been there several times.
(parents’ve)

13º Listen and repeat the question and answer above. Notice
how have is reduced in questions and full statements but not in
short answers.

14º Listen and complete the questions below.

1. Have you ever gone _____________________?

2. Have you ever been to a __________________?
3. Have you ever seen a ____________________?
4. Have you ever taken a _______________ class?
5. Have you ever had __________________ food?
6. Have you ever won a ____________________?
7. Have you ever forgotten an _______________?
 8. Have you ever broken ___________________?

1.4 Conversation strategies: Keeping the conversation

going
15º What kinds of fun things do people do on the weekends?
Make a list.

16º Listen. What fun things has Jason done lately?

Lea: Have you done anything fun lately?

Jason: Yeah, we went to a new club called Fizz last week. Have
you been there?
Lea: No, but I’ve heard good things about it. How was it?
Jason: Yeah, it’s neat. The DJ was really good. Do you like
techno music?
Lea: Yeah, it’s OK, um, not my favorite. I prefer hip-hop.
Jason: Do you? Have you seen that new movie about hip-hop
artists?
Lea: No. Is it good?
Jason: Yeah. I’ve seen it a couple of times.
Lea: Have you? Well, I’m kind of in the mood for a movie. Do you
want to see it again?
Jason: Well, I enjoyed it, but… I’ve never seen a movie three
times!

17º Notice how Lea and Jason keep the conversation going. They
say things like I’ve heard good things about it to show interest
and then ask a question. Find other examples in the conversation.

18º Match each statement with a response.

1. I just saw Hereafter. It was a good movie. Have you ever

seen it? _____
2. Have you ever eaten a lychee? ____
3. I heard a really good band called Sunset recently. Do you
know them? ____
 4. One of my favorite restaurants is Spice House. Have you
ever eaten there? ____

a. It’s a fruit, right? I’ve never tried one. What do they taste
like?
b. No, but I’ve walked by it. What kind of food do they
serve?
c. No, but I’ve heard good things about them. What kind of
music do they play?
d. No, but I’ve heard of it. What’s it about?

1.5 Strategy plus: Response questions

You can show interest by responding with short questions like Do
you? And Have you? Use the same tense as the other person.

19º Complete the conversations with response questions like Do

you? Are you? Did you? Or Have you?

1. A: I’ve never been up in a hot air balloon. I’m afraid of

heights.
B: ______________? Me too. I have flying.
A: ______________? I’m the same way. I get sick on
airplanes, too.
2. A: Have you ever performed in front of an audience?
B: Yes, I have. I do it all the time.
A: ____________? Wow.
B: Yeah. I’m a drummer in a rock band.
A: ____________? I’m impressed!
3. A: Have you seen any good movies lately?
B: Actually, I went to see that new action movie that’s out
right now.
A: ____________? The one with Liam Neeson? I’ve seen
all his movies.
B: ____________? So, is he your favorite actor?
 1.6 Listening practice: What have they done?

20º Listen to three people talk about things they have done.
Match the people and the main topic they talk about. There are
three extras.
1. Albert ___ a. a job d. a hobby
2. Reny ___ b. vacations e. a movie on TV
3. Melissa ___ c. a sport f. an accident

21º Listen again. What did each person just do? Write a
sentence.

________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

22º Listen again. Respond to the last thing each person says.
Check the correct response. Then write a question to keep each
conversation going.

1. Albert ( ) you have? ( ) Did you? ( ) Were you?

2. Reny ( ) Did you? ( ) You were? ( ) You have?

3. Melissa ( ) You did? ( ) Are you? ( ) Do you?

23º Are there things you’ve never done? Try to think of surprising
things.

Think of a sport you’ve never done. ______________________

Think of a tourist attraction in your town or city you’ve never
visited. _________________
Think of something you’ve never understood. ________________
Think of a food you’ve never eaten. _______________________
Think of a well-known movie you’ve never seen. _______________
Think of a TV show you’ve never watched. __________________
Think of something you’ve never drunk. ____________________
 1.7 Reading practice: Travel blogs
23º Look at the photographs. Which trip would you like to take?
Then read the two blogs. Which blogger had the worst
problems?

24º Read the blogs again. Are the sentences true or false?
Write T or F.

1. Guatemala is exactly what Jake expected. _____

2. The weather has been bad for his entire trip. _____
3. He had problems with his tent one night. _____
 4. Chloe enjoyed Carnival. _____
5. She and her friends have finished sightseeing. _____
6. She would like to spend more time in Brazil. _____

25º Listen to Suzanne’s friends talk about her trip to New

Zealand. Check the things Suzanne has done.

26º Listen again. Answer the questions.

1. How does Suzanne’s friend know about her trip?

2. Does Suzanne like to try new things?
3. What family does Suzanne have in New Zealand? Did she
meet them on her trip?
4. What are Suzanne’s photos like? Why are her friends
surprised?
5. Have Suzanne’s friends traveled a lot?

Adverbs of attitude

Use adverbs like fortunately, unfortunately, amazingly, etc., to show

your attitude or feeling about something.

27º Read the excerpt from a blog.

28º Write a blog entry about an exciting experience you’ve had.
Use fortunately, unfortunately, and amazingly. Do you have a
photo to add to the blog?

________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

29º Take turns reading your classmates’ blogs. Discuss who has…

 Had the most exciting experience.

 Done something you’d love to do.
 Been somewhere you’d love to go.