A2 — Lesson 06

Travel & Present Perfect

Travel Vocabulary · Present Perfect · Signal Words · V3 Forms · Been vs Gone · Present Perfect vs Past Simple
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Vocabulary: Travel & Experiences

British English travel vocabulary for adult learners. Listen and repeat each word.

Travel Nouns — Съществителни за пътуване

Passport/ˈpɑːs.pɔːt/Паспорт
Suitcase/ˈsuːt.keɪs/Куфар
Flight/flaɪt/Полет
Departure/dɪˈpɑː.tʃər/Заминаване / Отпътуване
Arrival/əˈraɪ.vəl/Пристигане
Destination/ˌdes.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/Дестинация / Местоназначение
Boarding pass/ˈbɔː.dɪŋ pɑːs/Карта за качване
Check-in/ˈtʃek.ɪn/Регистрация (на хотел / летище)

Travel Verbs — Глаголи за пътуване

To travel/ˈtræv.əl/Пътувам
To visit/ˈvɪz.ɪt/Посещавам
To arrive/əˈraɪv/Пристигам
To book/bʊk/Резервирам
To miss/mɪs/Изпускам (влак, самолет)
To pack/pæk/Опаковам / Наредя куфар
To lose/luːz/Губя / Изгубвам
To explore/ɪkˈsplɔːr/Изследвам / Разглеждам

Travel Adjectives — Прилагателни

Exhausted/ɪɡˈzɔːs.tɪd/Изтощен / Много уморен
Delayed/dɪˈleɪd/Закъснял / С престой
Unforgettable/ˌʌn.fəˈɡet.ə.bəl/Незабравим
Remote/rɪˈməʊt/Отдалечен / Далечен
📝 Exercise A: Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.
1. She forgot her ___ at home and couldn't board the plane.
2. Our flight was two hours ___ because of the bad weather.
3. He always ___ his hotel room at least two months in advance.
4. After the long journey, she was completely ___ and went straight to bed.
5. Their trip to Japan was truly ___. They still talk about it today.
🎯 Exercise B: Fill in the correct verb. Use: travel / visit / arrive / miss / explore / lose
1. We ___ the old city centre on our last day in Rome.
2. She always ___ by train — she doesn't like flying.
3. He ___ his passport at the airport last summer.
4. They ___ in Edinburgh late at night after a six-hour drive.
5. Don't be late — we'll ___ the train if we don't hurry!

Grammar Lab

Present Perfect — complete reference: structure, usage, signal words, irregular V3, been vs gone, and contrast with Past Simple.

Part 1 — Structure of the Present Perfect

We form the Present Perfect with have / has + past participle (V3). Use has with he / she / it and have with I / you / we / they. The negative uses have not (haven't) or has not (hasn't). Questions invert the subject and have/has.

✅ Affirmative — Subject + have/has + V3
SubjectAuxiliaryPast ParticipleExample
I / You / We / TheyhavevisitedI have visited Paris. / They have arrived.
He / She / IthasbeenShe has been to Japan. / He has lost his passport.
Short forms: I have → I've · She has → She's · We have → We've · He has → He's
❌ Negative — Subject + have not / has not + V3
SubjectNegativeShort formExample
I / You / We / Theyhave nothaven'tI haven't visited Scotland yet.
He / She / Ithas nothasn'tShe hasn't booked her flight yet.
❓ Questions — Have/Has + subject + V3?
TypeStructureExample
Yes/NoHave/Has + subject + V3?Have you ever eaten sushi? — Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.
Wh-Wh- + have/has + subject + V3?Where has she gone? · How many countries have you visited?
📝 Easy: Choose the correct auxiliary — have or has.
1. She ___ never been to New York.
2. We ___ already booked our hotel.
3. ___ you ever lost your passport?
4. He ___ just arrived at the airport.
5. They ___ visited twenty countries so far.
🎯 Harder: Write the full Present Perfect sentence using the words given. Include a short form where possible.
1. I / never / eat / Thai food →
2. she / already / book / the tickets →
3. they / not / arrive / yet →
4. he / lose / his suitcase →
5. how many countries / you / visit? →

Part 2 — When Do We Use the Present Perfect?

The Present Perfect connects the past to the present. We use it in four main situations.

1. Life Experience

  • Something happened at an unspecified time in your life
  • The when is not important
  • Often with ever and never
I have visited Rome.
Have you ever eaten sushi?

2. Recent News / Result

  • Something just happened and has a result now
  • Often with just
She has just landed.
He has lost his passport!

3. Unfinished Time

  • Period of time that hasn't ended yet
  • Often with today / this week / this year
I have packed my bag today.
We haven't spoken this week.

4. Not Yet Done

  • Something expected but not done
  • Often with yet and still
She hasn't booked yet.
They still haven't arrived.
📝 Easy: Match the sentence to the correct use of the Present Perfect.
1. "I've just checked in at the hotel."
2. "Have you ever been to Scotland?"
3. "She hasn't packed her suitcase yet."
4. "We've visited three museums this week."

Part 3 — Signal Words

Certain words are strong signals that we need the Present Perfect. Learn these words — they appear in every exercise and exam.

🟢 Present Perfect signal words:

ever never already yet still (negative) just recently so far up to now this week / month / year today before
Position tip: Just, already, and never come between have/has and the past participle: She has just arrived. · I have already booked. · He has never flown.
Yet comes at the end of the sentence: They haven't arrived yet. · Have you packed yet?
📝 Easy: Place the signal word in the correct position in the sentence.
1. She has arrived. (just) →
2. Have you been to Barcelona? (ever) →
3. I haven't packed my bag. (yet) →
4. He has missed the train. (never) →
5. We've visited five cities. (so far) →
🎯 Harder: Choose the correct signal word for each gap.
1. I've ___ been to Australia — it's still on my list.
2. Don't book the hotel — she has ___ done it!
3. They've ___ arrived — they're checking in right now.
4. Has he booked his flight ___?
5. We've been to three different countries ___ this year.

Part 4 — Past Participle (V3) Forms

The past participle (V3) is the third form of the verb, used after have/has. Regular verbs add -ed. Irregular verbs must be memorised.

Regular: V1 → V3 (-ed)

  • visit → visited
  • book → booked
  • travel → travelled
  • arrive → arrived
  • pack → packed
  • explore → explored

Irregular: Must Memorise

  • go → gone / been
  • be → been
  • see → seen
  • eat → eaten
  • lose → lost
  • fly → flown

More Irregular V3

  • take → taken
  • buy → bought
  • meet → met
  • forget → forgotten
  • write → written
  • speak → spoken
InfinitivePast Simple (V2)Past Participle (V3)Bulgarian
Regular
visitvisitedvisitedпосетя
bookbookedbookedрезервирам
traveltravelledtravelledпътувам
Irregular
gowentgone / beenотивам
seesawseenвиждам
eatateeatenям
loselostlostгубя
flyflewflownлетя
taketooktakenвземам
buyboughtboughtкупувам
meetmetmetсрещам
forgetforgotforgottenзабравям
writewrotewrittenпиша
speakspokespokenговоря
📝 Easy: Write the past participle (V3) of each verb.
1. go →
2. eat →
3. visit →
4. lose →
5. fly →
6. forget →
🎯 Harder: Put the verb in brackets into the correct Present Perfect form.
1. I ___ (never / fly) business class before.
2. She ___ (already / buy) a new suitcase for the trip.
3. They ___ (meet) some amazing people on their travels.
4. He ___ (forget) to bring his boarding pass!
5. We ___ (not / see) the Eiffel Tower yet.

Part 5 — Been vs Gone

Both been and gone are past participles of go, but they have different meanings. This is one of the most common mistakes at A2 level.

BEEN — visited and returned

  • The person went AND came back
  • It is a completed experience
  • The person is here now
She has been to Paris. (She went and came back.)
"Have you ever been to Rome?"

GONE — went and not yet back

  • The person went and is still there
  • They have not returned yet
  • The person is NOT here now
She has gone to Paris. (She is there now.)
"Where's Tom?" — "He's gone to the airport."
✅ "Have you ever been to Japan?" — "Yes, I went last year." (experience — she's back)
✅ "Where's Mark?" — "He's gone to London." (still away)
❌ "Have you ever gone to Japan?" (incorrect — asking about experience)
❌ "She has been to the airport" (wrong if she's still there)
📝 Easy: Choose been or gone.
1. Have you ever ___ to Scotland?
2. "Where's your sister?" — "She's ___ to the airport."
3. He's ___ to Spain three times — he loves it there.
4. "Is Emma here?" — "No, she's ___ to a travel conference."
5. We've ___ to three different countries this year.

Part 6 — Present Perfect vs Past Simple

This is the most important contrast at A2 level. The two tenses look similar but communicate very different things.

Present PerfectPast Simple
No specific time givenSpecific time given (yesterday, in 2019, last week)
Connection to the present is importantThe event is finished — no link to now
I have visited Paris. (sometime in my life)I visited Paris in 2019.
She has lost her passport! (now it's missing)She lost her passport last year. (it was found)
ever, never, already, yet, just, recently, so faryesterday, last week, in 2010, ago, at 3pm, when
Key rule: If the sentence includes a finished time expression (last year, in 2020, yesterday, two hours ago), use the Past Simple. If no time is given, or the time is still ongoing (today, this year), use the Present Perfect.
✅ I have been to Japan. (life experience, no time given)
✅ I went to Japan in 2022. (specific finished time)
❌ I have been to Japan in 2022. (specific time = Past Simple)
❌ I went to Japan three times in my life. (life experience = Present Perfect)
📝 Easy: Choose Present Perfect or Past Simple.
1. She ___ to New York twice.
2. We ___ to Edinburgh last summer.
3. He ___ his flight yesterday.
4. ___ you ever ___ Thai food?
5. I ___ my passport in 2021 but found it the next day.
🎯 Harder: Put the verb in brackets into the correct tense — Present Perfect or Past Simple.
1. I ___ (never / be) to Australia — I'd love to go one day.
2. They ___ (visit) four countries on their trip last month.
3. She ___ (just / arrive) — she's still at the check-in desk.
4. ___ (you / ever / fly) in a helicopter?
5. He ___ (book) the wrong hotel last week — it was a disaster.

Reading: Travel Stories

✈️

Text 1: Maya's Travels

Maya is twenty-eight years old and she loves travelling. Since leaving university, she has visited fourteen countries and has lived in three of them. She has been to Japan twice — once in spring and once in winter — and she says it is the most beautiful country she has ever seen. Last year, she went to Peru and explored the ancient city of Machu Picchu. She took hundreds of photographs and kept a detailed journal. "I have always wanted to go there," she said. "It was everything I had hoped for." This year, Maya has already booked a trip to Iceland. She has never been to Scandinavia before, and she is very excited. She hasn't finished planning yet, but she has already found a guide who speaks both English and Bulgarian.

Questions:

1. How many countries has Maya visited since leaving university?

2. What did Maya do in Peru last year?

3. "She has already booked a trip to Iceland" — why is Present Perfect used here? (Language focus)

4. What can we infer about Maya's character from the text? (Inference)

🧳

Text 2: The Wrong Bag

David and his wife Sarah have just returned from a two-week holiday in Thailand. It was a wonderful trip — they visited temples, tried local food, and made many new friends. However, the journey home was not quite so smooth. At Bangkok Airport, David picked up the wrong suitcase from the baggage belt. He didn't notice until they arrived at their hotel in the city, when he opened the bag and found clothes that were not his. He has never felt so embarrassed in his life. They called the airline immediately. Fortunately, the other passenger had already contacted the airport about the mix-up. "Someone has taken my bag by mistake," David told the customer service desk. By the time they sorted it out, they had missed their original connecting flight and had to book a new one. They arrived home a day late — but David says it is a story he has told everyone since.

Questions:

1. What mistake did David make at the airport?

2. How did they resolve the situation?

3. "He has never felt so embarrassed" — which use of the Present Perfect is this? (Language focus)

4. The text says David "has told everyone" about the story. What does this suggest? (Inference)

Text 1 / 2

Cloze Text

Choose the correct word or phrase from each drop-down menu. Words are not in order in the menus.

Nina is a travel blogger from Sofia. She (1) over thirty countries in her life, and she (2) to the same place twice. Last spring, she (3) to Morocco and spent two weeks exploring the desert.

This year, she (4) a (5) to Iceland for next month. She (6) to Scandinavia before, so she is very excited.

Nina (7) her (8) yet, but she (9) a list of things she wants to see. "It is the most (10) destination I have (11) chosen," she wrote on her blog.

Exercises

15 exercises covering all grammar and vocabulary from this lesson.

Tense Writing Practice

Five exercises, 10 sentences each — all mixed tenses in every exercise. Tenses: Present Simple · Present Continuous · Past Simple · Present Perfect · Will · Be Going To
Read each sentence carefully and put the verb in brackets into the correct tense.