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A2 Intermediate Aspects & Time

过 (guo): How to Say “Have You Ever…” / Talk About Experiences

The aspect particle 过 (guo) marks an experience — you've done something at least once, at no particular time: 我去过北京 (“I've been to Beijing”), 你吃过吗？(“have you ever eaten…?”). Negate with 没…过 (“never”).

Why this trips learners up

To say you've ever done something — that you've experienced it, at least once, at no particular time — Chinese uses the aspect particle 过 (guo), right after the verb: Subject + Verb + 过 + Object. 我去过北京 = “I've been to Beijing”; 你吃过臭豆腐吗？= “have you ever eaten stinky tofu?”. The neat part: 过 alone carries “ever / before” — you don't add any extra word for it.

Because 过 is about past experience, you negate it with 没 (never 不): 没 + Verb + 过 = “have never…” (我没去过日本 = “I've never been to Japan”), and 从来没…过 pushes it to “never ever”. Keep the 过 in the negative — 没去 is “didn't go (that time)”, but 没去过 is “have never been”. One more wrinkle, often confusing: 过 can pair with 了 — Verb + 过 + (Object) + 了 — to stress that an everyday action is already done (我吃过饭了 = “I've already eaten”), optionally with 已经. The big thing to keep straight is 过 vs 了: 过 is an experience (“ever, at some point”), 了 is a specific completed action (“did, then”).

The structure

SubjectVerb 过 guo Object
Colour key

Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.

Pattern Subject Verb Object Negation Adverb Function word Measure word Number Question

Examples in context

Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.

Tap a word to see its grammatical role.

wǒ 我 Subject qù 去 Verb guo 过 Pattern Běijīng 北京 Object

I've been to Beijing (before).

nǐ 你 Subject zuò 坐 Verb guo 过 Pattern gāotiě 高铁 Object ma 吗 Question

Have you ever ridden the high-speed train?

wǒ 我 Subject chī 吃 Verb guo 过 Pattern chòudòufu 臭豆腐 Object

I've eaten stinky tofu (before).

wǒ 我 Subject méi 没 Negation jiàn 见 Verb guo 过 Pattern tā de nǚpéngyou 他的女朋友 Object

I've never met his girlfriend.

wǒ 我 Subject cónglái 从来 Adverb méi 没 Negation qù 去 Verb guo 过 Pattern guówài 国外 Object

I've never been abroad (in my life).

wǒ 我 Subject chī 吃 Verb guo 过 Pattern wǎnfàn 晚饭 Object le 了 Function word

I've already had dinner (so I'm not hungry).

wǒ 我 Subject yǐjīng 已经 Adverb kàn 看 Verb guo 过 Pattern zhè bù diànyǐng 这部电影 Object le 了 Function word

I've already seen this movie.

zhè běn shū 这本书 Object wǒ 我 Subject kàn 看 Verb guo 过 Pattern liǎng 两 Number biàn 遍 Measure word

I've read this book twice (before).

Common mistakes

Avoid: 我不去过日本。 wǒ bù qù guo Rìběn.
Say this: 我没去过日本。 wǒ méi qù guo Rìběn. (= I've never been to Japan)

Why it happens: 过 is about past experience, so it negates with 没, never 不. “I've never been to Japan” is 我没去过日本, not 我不去过日本. (不 is for the present and future, not for what you have or haven't experienced.)

Avoid: 这家餐厅我没去。 zhè jiā cāntīng wǒ méi qù. (= I didn't go [that time])
Say this: 这家餐厅我没去过。 zhè jiā cāntīng wǒ méi qù guo. (= I've never been)

Why it happens: Keep the 过 in the negative. 没去 means “didn't go (that one time)”; 没去过 means “have never been (no experience of it)”. Drop the 过 and you lose the “ever / never”.

Avoid: 我昨天去过北京。 wǒ zuótiān qù guo Běijīng.
Say this: 我昨天去了北京。 wǒ zuótiān qù le Běijīng.

Why it happens: A specific, time-anchored completed action takes 了, not experiential 过. “I went to Beijing yesterday” is 我昨天去了北京 — 昨天 pins it to one time, which clashes with 过's open-ended “at some point”. Save 过 for “ever”.

Compare & contrast

过 — an experience (“ever, at some point”)了 — a completed action (“did, then”)The difference
我去过日本。wǒ qù guo Rìběn. = I've been to Japan (ever)我去了日本。wǒ qù le Rìběn. = I went to Japan (a specific trip)我去过日本 = “I've been to Japan” — sometime in my life, the experience. 我去了日本 = “I went to Japan” — a specific trip (and it happened).
你吃过北京烤鸭吗？nǐ chī guo Běijīng kǎoyā ma? = ever eaten Peking duck?你吃饭了吗？nǐ chī fàn le ma? = have you eaten (yet)?你吃过北京烤鸭吗？asks about experience — “have you ever had Peking duck?”. 你吃饭了吗？asks about a recent action — “have you eaten (yet)?”.
Rule of thumb过 marks an experience — whether you've EVER done something, no particular time (我去过北京). 了 marks a specific completed action (我去了北京). Negate 过 with 没…过 (“never”); when the two team up, 吃过饭了 means “have already eaten”.

Try it yourself

Ask “Have you ever read this book?” — tap the words into order.

Related patterns

了Does 了 Mean Past Tense? The Completed-Action 了

The contrast that matters: 过 = an experience (“ever”), 了 = a specific completed action (“did”).

 了Sentence-Final 了 (le): The “Change of State” 了

过 + 了 together say “already done” (吃过饭了) — the experiential 过 meeting the change-of-state 了.

 不／没不 vs 没 (bù vs méi): Which Negative to Use

过 always negates with 没 (没去过 = “never been”), never 不 — the past-experience side of 没.

 在在 (zài): How to Say “Doing” (Present Continuous)

The aspect set: 在 (in progress), 过 (experienced), 了 (completed) — three windows on an action.

 从来How to Say “Never” with 从来 (cónglái)

The all-time-negative of 过: 去过 (“have been”) → 从来没去过 (“have never been”). 从来没…过 is 过 turned to “never”.

 以来How to Say “Ever Since” with 以来 (yǐlái)

以来 loves a 没…过: 结婚以来我们没吵过架 (“since we married we’ve never once fought”) sums up a whole span with the experiential 过.

 开着How to Use 着 (zhe) for Ongoing States

Aspect particles side by side: 过 is a past experience (去过), 着 is a continuing state (开着). One looks back, one holds in the present.

 次Verb Measure Words: Counting Times with 次 / 遍 / 下

过 pairs with verb measures to count experiences: 去过两次 (“been twice”), 看过三遍 (“watched through three times”). 过 marks the experience, the measure counts how often.

 再也不How to Say “Never Again” with 再也不 (zài yě bù)

The 过 in “never again since.” 再也没 + Verb + 过 uses experiential 过 to say something hasn't happened again from some point up to now (分手以后再也没见过). Same 没…过, sharpened by 再也 to “never again.”

 曾经How to Say “Once / Formerly” with 曾经 (céngjīng)

The “once, formerly” partner. 过 marks present-relevant experience (你去过吗？); 曾经 is the adverb that sits in front to add “once upon a time, and no longer” (曾经去过). 过 says “have done,” 曾经 says “used to.” They team up constantly.
Quick reference card
Merry Mandarin 过 (guo): How to Say “Have You Ever…” / Talk About Experiences grammar.merrymandarin.com

A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.

Structure
Subject + Verb + 过 + Object
Example
我去过北京
I've been to Beijing (before).
Watch out
✗ 我不去过日本。  →  ✓ 我没去过日本。