Using the present perfect tense can be difficult for many English learners. This is because it is used in a variety of ways that do not necessarily translate to similar grammar forms in other languages.

The key is to consider the different contexts where you can use the present perfect, and then look at what message we want to express when using the present perfect or other forms. If you can understand this, then you will be a big step closer to managing conversations fluently in English!

The Coffee Break English Show is a podcast series of informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in English. In the latest episode, Nick and Francesca look at how to use the present perfect tense for experiences that you have had in the past, plus we explain the difference between been and gone.

Have you made yourself a coffee? Then let’s get started!

The Present Perfect Tense for Experiences

The present perfect tense is used to signify a variety of situations, but today we will look specifically at experiences. When we speak to friends or meet people for the first time, we often talk about our experiences. A common question is ‘Have you ever…?’ And a common response is ‘No, I’ve never’ or ‘Yes, I have’. 

This gives us our question form for the present perfect, plus the short positive and negative forms. We can also give extra information. See the below conversation:

Been and Gone

In the example above been is used to express the idea of visiting a place. It is important to remember that we are talking about the experience of visiting Paris.

We can consider been as the past participle of go when describing an experience. The idea that we went to a place and then returned. This is also the case when we use a phrase like go skiing in the present perfect (I have been skiing in the Alps).

We use gone with the present perfect to express the idea of movement, or leaving a place. The idea that we went to a place and we haven’t returned. We can see the difference in the dialogue below:

We can see that the wife has returned home but the husband has not. The wife has been to the supermarket but the husband has gone to pick up the children.

So we can use been when we use present perfect for experiences and gone when we use present perfect for recent actions.

For more on been and gone with the present perfect tense, see our 8th episode of Season 1.

Present Perfect Vs Past Simple

We use the present perfect tense for talking about experiences with no specific detail and we use the past simple to give further information about the experience. Here’s an example:

We can see that the experience is introduced with the question have you ever? and then the follow up question is in the past simple. When we ask for detail we use the past simple, usually using open questions with question words such as who, what, why, when, etc.. 

From this point on, we normally use the past simple because we are talking about a finished activity and no longer a general experience.

For more practice with choosing the past simple or the present perfect tense, check out Episode 2 of Season 3 of Coffee Break English. 

It’s your turn!

Now, let’s practise! Try to decide which of the sentences below is a lie. Read to the bottom to find out which sentence is not true… Don’t check until you have guessed!

Coffee Break Languages founder, Mark Pentleton, has learnt 9 foreign languages.

Coffee Break Languages has been nominated for a Lovie Award for Best Science/Education Podcast.

Coffee Break Languages has created a podcast series for pets.

Practice makes a perfect tense!

Remember that the present perfect tense is difficult because we use it in a variety of ways and it doesn’t always have an equivalent form in other languages so be patient with yourself and always try to learn in context. Try using the present perfect tense for experiences in your conversations!

If you found this post interesting, make sure you listen to the full podcast episode with Nick and Francesca on The Coffee Break English Show. We will release more episodes soon, about some other useful topics! Subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube to learn when the next episode is available.

Plus, don’t miss your free worksheet – perfect for extra practice after the lesson! When you sign up, you’ll also receive our short coffee break-sized email lessons, delivered straight to your inbox every week, to help you build your English skills. 💪 You’ll even hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, who shares regular tips and motivation for learners of all levels. Sign up below! 👇

So keep practising, deepening your knowledge and understanding, and remaining curious about the language you are learning and you will surely make progress. 🚀

Happy Coffee Breaking!

Here are the answers to the quiz:

Coffee Break Languages founder, Mark Pentleton, has learnt 10 foreign languages. True!

It is true, Mark has learnt 9 foreign languages and you can hear him speaking them here! 🌎

Coffee Break Languages has been nominated for a Lovie Award for Best Science/Education Podcast. True!

Coffee Break Languages has created a podcast series for pets. False!

This one is not true but we did pretend to do this in an April Fools’ Joke!  🤭

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Have you ever wondered whether to say too much or too many? Or perhaps you’re unsure when to use enough? The good news is that learning these quantifiers in English will help you sound more natural!

The Coffee Break English Show is a podcast series of informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in English. In the latest episode, Nick and Anabel explore how to use these common quantifiers in English and when to choose one over the other.

So let’s take a closer look at too much, too many and enough and start putting them into practice! Continue reading to find out more, and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

First we need to establish what countable and uncountable nouns are.

When we talk about countable nouns, we mean nouns that can be plural. We can say I have one apple, I have two apples, three apples, etc. We normally show the plural form by adding the letter s (or es for words like leaves, watches, etc.) at the end of words but some countable nouns are irregular (person – people, child – children, woman – women, etc.).

When we talk about uncountable nouns, we mean nouns that are not possible to count by expressing a simple number before them. Liquids are uncountable because it is impossible to put a simple numerical quantity to them (water, oil, coffee, etc.). Many abstract ideas are uncountable too, such as information, news, money and light.

Too Much, Too Many, and Enough

Understanding when to use quantifiers is essential for speaking English correctly. These words help us describe quantity, but they have specific rules for their usage.

Too Much vs. Too Many

These phrases mean “more than necessary” or “more than wanted,” but the difference depends on whether the noun is countable or uncountable. 

Too much is used with uncountable nouns:

• There is too much sugar in my coffee.
• She spends too much time on her phone.

Too many is used with countable nouns:

• There are too many cars on the road at 5pm. Traffic is slow!
• I bought too many apples at the market. My bag broke on the way home!

We should always remember that when we use too much and too many, we are expressing a negative idea. We are saying that the quantity is a problem. If we just want to say that there is a very large quantity using much and many, we can say so much and so many.

• There is so much light in this room.
• There are so many castles in Scotland!

If you want more practice with quantifiers in English, check out Episode 5 of Season 1 of Coffee Break English!

Enough

The word enough means “sufficient” or “the right amount.” It can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

 Before a noun:

• We have enough chairs for everyone. 
• There is enough food for everyone, help yourself! 

After an adjective:

• She’s strong enough to lift the box. 
• The oven is hot enough now, we can put the pie in.

Not Enough

We use not enough to show that something is “insufficient”. It can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

• This coffee is not hot enough. 
• She doesn’t have enough money to buy a new phone. 

Common mistakes

Here are some common mistakes learners make when using quantifiers in English:

There are too much people in the room. ❌

There are too many people in the room. ✅

I don’t have too many time. ❌ 

I don’t have too much time. ✅

She didn’t buy enough big shoes. ❌   

She didn’t buy big enough shoes. ✅

Let’s Review

It’s your turn!

Now, let’s practise using quantifiers in English! Here are four situations. Try to make a sentence to describe each one using too much, too many, enough or not enough for each one.

Some possible answers are at the end of this blog post, but don’t look until you’ve thought about your answers!

1. I need £35 to pay for the dinner and I have £36.
2. There are 5 students and 3 chairs.
3. This pasta is extremely salty!
4. There are 6 people and 5 spaces in the car.

If you found this post interesting, make sure you listen to the full podcast episode with Nick and Anabel on The Coffee Break English Show. In this series, we talk about useful topics for English learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.

Plus, don’t miss your free worksheet – perfect for extra practice after the lesson! When you sign up, you’ll also receive our short coffee break-sized email lessons, delivered straight to your inbox every week, to help you build your English skills. 💪 You’ll even hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, who shares regular tips and motivation for learners of all levels. Sign up below! 👇

So, start using quantifiers in English correctly whenever you can! The more you practice, the more natural your English will sound. Why not get a coffee now and test yourself with today’s practice exercises?

Happy Coffee Breaking!

P.s. Here are some possible answers to the prompts given above:

1. I have enough money.
2. There are not enough chairs (or there are too many students).
3. They put too much salt on the pasta.
4. There are not enough spaces in my car (or there are too many people for my car).

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Making th sounds in English is a common problem that many English language learners face – but did you know that many native speakers also find th pronunciation difficult?

It really is a tricky sound to make! But many words contain th sounds in English and mastering this sound will ensure you communicate clearly and effectively. 

The Coffee Break English Show is a podcast series of informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in English. In the latest episode, Nick and Francesca look at the difference between f and th pronunciation as well as voiced and unvoiced th sounds.

Because this episode focuses on pronunciation, it’s best to watch the video or listen to the podcast episode while you read this article, to hear Nick and Francesca making the sounds.

So let’s get started and look at th sounds in English!

‘Th’ Pronunciation in English

For many language learners, the pronunciation of th is a big challenge because this sound doesn’t exist in their language, or at least not in the same way. Today we want to demystify th pronunciation so that you feel more confident in future.

‘Th’ Vs ‘f’

The first challenge between f and th sounds is understanding how to make them.

The big difference is the position of the tongue!

F sounds are made by putting the top teeth on the bottom lip and blowing air through the gap. The tongue stays in the mouth. 🦷

Th sounds are made by putting the tongue between the top and bottom teeth and blowing air around the tongue. You should be able to see the tongue if you look in a mirror! 😛

Another good way to practise this sound is to put a pencil, or your finger, in front of your lips and make sure you touch the pencil with your tongue when you make the th sounds. You will find some fun sentences to do this at the end of this blog! 👅✏️

Spelling Rules

Now let’s look at when to use each one. If you are looking at a dictionary post of a word, you will see the spelling and the phonemic transcription. Understanding phonemic symbols can help you with your pronunciation because written English does not always help you understand how to say words in English. 

The good news is, for the difference between /f/ and /θ/, we can trust the spelling!

f = /f/

/f/ is almost always spelt with one or two f’s. It is never spelt th. This spelling rule really helps to know when to make each sound. We sometimes see /f/ spelt with gh (laugh, enough, etc.) or ph (photo, phone, physics, etc.)

th = /θ/

/θ/ is always spelt with th. There are no exceptions to this rule! 🥳

TH – voiced or unvoiced?

Now we come to a small problem with th pronunciation. There are two ways to pronounce th in English. One is voiced 🗣️ and the other is unvoiced 🔇.

We can see a clear difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds with the letters f and v. To make an f sound, you put your top teeth on your bottom lip and blow air. To make a v sound, you do the same, but you vibrate your voice box. You can feel this happening if you put your finger on the front of your throat and make the v sound. For this, try making the sound of a Formula One car! 🏎️

We can apply the same rule between /f/ and /v/ to th sounds. For the voiced th sound, the tongue remains between the teeth, but now we are vibrating the voice box. The symbol for this sound is /ð/. 

Th = /θ/ (unvoiced) e.g. theatre, bath, truth 🔇

Th = /ð/ (voiced) e.g the, then, breathe 🗣️

If you would like more practice with th pronunciation, check out how to pronounce ‘Tuesday’ and ‘Thursday’ in episode 9 from the first season of the Coffee Break Show!

Spelling Rules

The difference between f and th is quite easy to see in spelling. Unfortunately, it is not so easy with the difference between the th sounds /θ/ and /ð/. There are some general rules we can follow but we have to be careful for exceptions. 

Both /θ/ and /ð/ can appear at the beginning of words but /ð/ is more common. 

Many determiners begin with a /ð/ sound: the, this, that, these, those.

The numbers three, thirteen, thirty and thousand all have a /θ/ sound.

Generally, when th is at the end of the word, we say /θ/ (unvoiced).

When th is in the middle of the word we normally say /ð/ (voiced). But there are many exceptions to this rule so be careful! The best thing to do is learn the patterns where these rules do apply.

Let’s have a look at some examples:

Let’s review 

So the fundamental difference between f and th in English is that /f/ needs the top lip on the bottom teeth, and /θ/ needs the tongue between the teeth, and /ð/ is the same but has a vibrating quality. As always, the best way to perfect these rules is to practise using the words and learning when to follow each rule. Now try saying the words in the visual below out loud! 🗣️

It’s your turn! 

Try saying these tongue twisters out loud to practise pronouncing these sounds correctly! Try this in front of a mirror and check you can see your tongue when making those th sounds. If you want, you can listen to Nick and Francesca saying them in the video, and repeat them after them.

👅🌪️

There are Thirty-three thick silk threads.

👅🌪️🌪️

Three thousand thick feathers float down the river.

👅🌪️🌪️🌪️

I thought a thought, but the thought I thought wasn’t the thought that I’d thought that I’d thought.

If you found this post interesting, make sure you listen to the full podcast episode with Nick and Francesca on The Coffee Break English Show. In this series, we talk about useful topics for English learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube.

Plus, don’t miss your free worksheet – perfect for extra practice after the lesson! When you sign up, you’ll also receive our short coffee break-sized email lessons, delivered straight to your inbox every week, to help you build your English skills. 💪 You’ll even hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, who shares regular tips and motivation for learners of all levels. Sign up below! 👇

Try to practise the th sounds often at home! The more you practice, the more confident you will become. We recommend you make a list of the words with these sounds that you find difficult and practise saying them until you feel more confident making th sounds.

Remember that it’s ok not to sound exactly like a native speaker! The important thing is that you feel confident and comfortable when speaking and people can understand you.

Happy Coffee Breaking!

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Do you know the different ways to talk about future plans in English? Talking about your plans can be a little confusing as we don’t always use future tenses in English like we do in the present and past. Instead, we have different phrases we use to express specific ideas.

In this episode, Nick and Anabel look at will, be going to and the present continuous to see how we can express different ideas about our future plans in English.

The Coffee Break English Show is a podcast series of informal conversations to help you understand some difficult topics in English. In the latest episode, we discuss different ways to use future tenses in English to express future plans.

Continue reading to find out more and why not listen to the podcast as you go?

Let’s get started with will!

Future Tense Verbs – Will

Let’s look at will first. One of the most common meanings of will is to express spontaneous decisions. We can consider a spontaneous decision as the birth of our plan, it has just been decided and is still new. To create this form, we use will, plus the bare infinitive (without to).

If we are hungry, we might say “I’ll go and buy a sandwich”. If it is cold we might say “I will put on a jumper”. It is something I decide to do in the moment.

Examples in positive, negatives and question form:

✅ I will buy a new phone.

❌ I won’t buy a new phone.

❓ Will you buy a new phone?

Remember the contraction of will involves the subject and the last two letters of the verb will, with an apostrophe (‘ll). You may even hear this contraction with a noun but this is almost always only when we speak.

I’ll

you’ll

he’ll

she’ll

it’ll

we’ll

they’ll

Nick’ll

Anabel’ll (ok, this one is very difficult to pronounce!)

Future Tense Verbs – Be going to

We use be going to to describe the next stage of our plan. This is a decision which we have made in the past and we are now thinking about. We are now planning the details and it is our personal intention. We use the bare infinitive after be going to.

If I am talking about the weekend, I can say “I’m going to see my friends.” This means that the plan is being organised but maybe some details are not finalised.

Examples in positive, negatives and question form:

✅ I am going to buy a new phone.

❌ I am not going to buy a new phone.

❓ Are you going to you buy a new phone?

Future Tense Verbs – Present Continuous

When we have finalised the important details and our plan is complete, we can use the present continuous. This shows that our plan is fixed and the details are confirmed. We use present continuous for fixed plans.

Examples in positive, negatives and question form:

✅ I am buying a new phone.

❌ I am not buying a new phone.

❓ Are you buying a new phone?

Let’s review the future tenses in English

So let’s go over the different ways to use future tenses in English to express future plans.

First, we start with will to express a new plan. We make a spontaneous decision.

Then we use be going to when we have already made the decision and we now have a personal intention.

And finally we used present continuous to show we have finalised the details and we have a fixed plan.

Remember! The present continuous and be going to are very similar and express slightly different ideas but can often be used in the same context with little difference in meaning. Don’t worry if sometimes you’re not sure which one to use, it probably means you can use both! If you feel you need more practice with future tenses in English, we take a look at other ways to use be going to and will in Episode 5 of Season 3.

It’s your turn!

Now, let’s practise using the future tenses in English to talk about future plans! Look at the prompts and think about which future form would be best to use. The answers are at the end of the blog post but don’t look until you’ve thought about your answers!

1. It’s cold! (put on my jumper) …
2. I am busy tonight. (meet my friends in town) …
3. I’m on my summer holiday! Tomorrow (swim in the sea and sunbathe) …

If you found this post interesting, make sure you listen to the full podcast episode with Nick and Anabel on The Coffee Break English Show. We will release more episodes soon, about some more useful topics! Subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube to learn when the next episode is available.

Plus, don’t miss your free worksheet – perfect for extra practice after the lesson! When you sign up, you’ll also receive our short coffee break-sized email lessons, delivered straight to your inbox every week, to help you build your English skills. 💪 You’ll even hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, who shares regular tips and motivation for learners of all levels. Sign up below! 👇

So, start trying to use different future tenses in English to be specific about your future plans when you can! Remember that when you learn new grammar, it will help you to express yourself as well as improving your understanding when listening to others. It’s all part of the language-learning journey. Are you going to try using these three future forms in your speech? Good luck!

Happy Coffee Breaking!

Here are some possible answers to the questions given above:

1. It’s cold! I’ll put on my jumper.
2. I am busy tonight. I’m meeting my friends in town.
3. I’m on my summer holiday! Tomorrow I’m going to swim in the sea and sunbathe.

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