Congratulations!

Congratulations! The party sounds fantastic! Is it still going on, or have things calmed down a little by now? Did anyone go into work on time this morning in Italy??!!

You say that the party went on (or 'lasted') 'all night'; this is a useful little phrase for an activity that takes place over a period of time - 'all morning', 'all afternoon', 'all weekend', 'all week', 'all year' etc. I wonder if the Italian World Cup party will last all week??!

You correctly use the present perfect form of the verb 'see', to describe the size of the World Cup party, 'the biggest party I've ever seen'. When 'ever' is used with a present perfect verb form, it means 'at any time in the past, up to now'.

I think you need another present perfect verb in this sentence, 'It is the first time I can see Italy wins...'. As above, if you want to say 'any time in the past, up to now', try, 'It is the first time I have (I've) seen Italy win...'

To go back to the first example of the present perfect, 'the biggest party I've ever seen'.... 'ever' is MOSTLY used in questions, for example, 'do you ever go to the theatre?', meaning AT ANY TIME. Also, 'have you ever been to Italy?', meaning AT ANY TIME IN THE PAST UP TO NOW. Your example, however, shows that 'ever' can also be used in affirmative statements after a superlative adjective, 'the BIGGEST party I've ever seen.' You can also use 'ever' after 'only', for example, 'he's the only man I've ever loved.' There are a few other times when 'ever' can be used in affirmative or negative statements (e.g. 'I've never, ever liked him'), but as I have said, it is mostly found in affirmative statements.

On the other hand, 'ever' is not normally used to mean 'always', so 'I've ever liked him', is wrong. 'I've always liked him', is the correct form and means AT EVERY TIME IN THE PAST UP TO NOW. Similarly, 'fair play should ever win in a competition', should be, 'fair play should ALWAYS win...'.

The IELTS speaking test is similar to FCE, except there is only one examiner in the room. All the tests are recorded, so if I'm not sure what score to give, I listen to the tape again. I enjoy doing it because of the challenge of asking questions, deciding on a mark and trying to look like a friendly person, all at the same time!

Congratulations again Antonio and enjoy the rest of the party!

Rachel

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