Experience

have experience of

She didn't have much experience of marketing, but they gave her the job anyway.

learn from experience

My father believes that it is better to learn from experience rather than from books. Personally, I think that you need to do both.

gain experience in

I've gain a lot of valuable experience in the classroom this year. I now feel I'm a much better teacher than I was when I qualified a year ago.

bring experience to

The new CEO is like a breath of fresh air. He brings years of experience to the company.

share experience with

Margaret, perhaps you'd like to share your experience with the rest of the class?

base on experience

The novel is about growing up in China in the 60's. It's based on the author's own experience.

direct experience

Training is provided, so no previous experience is required for the job no direct experience of it?

rewarding experience

Studying at a university can be a rich and rewarding experience.

past experience

John'll be late. I know from past experience that you can't rely on him.

direct experience

How can you talk about poverty when you've had no direct experience of it?

lack necessary experience

The reason I didn't make it to the second stage of the interviews is that I lacked the necessary experience for the job.

involve practical experience

The diving course involves a one-hour lecture and two hours' practical experience in the swimming pool.

lack of experience

They won't consider him for the job because of his lack of experience.

breadth of experience

He's worked in a number of different areas so his breadth of experience makes him ideal for the job.

light of experience

We'll meet to review the proposed plans in the light of past experience.

matter of experience

Dealing with problems in the classroom is all a matter of experience.

traumatic experience

The death of a close relative is a traumatic experience, often leaving people emotionally drained.

bitter experience

We learned through bitter experience that you can't trust Brian. He's let us down too many times.

satisfying experience

McEnroe had the satisfying experience of finally beating his old rival, Borg, in the final.

memorable experience

Nobody in the family will ever forget the trip to our grandfather's birthplace. It was a memorable experience.

fascinating experience

Living in Central Africa was a fascinating experience. There was always something new and interesting to see or do.

formative experience

Going abroad on a school trip can be a very formative experience for some children.

exhilarating experience

For most people a parachute jump is an exhilarating and unforgettable experience.

 

Notes

• In ‘John'll be late. I know from past experience that you can't rely on him. ’ 'first-hand' is also possible.

In ‘How can you talk about poverty when you've had no direct experience of it?’ 'personal' is also possible.

• Note the prepositions that follow experience:

have experience of teaching

have experience with children

have experience as a teacher

We use the expression 'in my experience' very often

at the beginning of what we want to say:

• In my experience, this kind of skin rash will disappear in a day or two.

If we do something very exciting - for example, going up in a hot air balloon - we can

say: That was quite an experience!

If you have a bad experience - for example, you lend money to a friend and they don't re-pay you, you can

say:

I suppose I should just put it down to experience!