験Longer sentences
Have you ever
こと + がある talks about experience: “I've done it before”. In the present form, it means something happens from time to time.
One small change
Past form, or present?
I've been to Kyoto.
Past + ことがある: life experience.
I sometimes go to Kyoto.
Present + ことがある: it happens at times.
Experience
Have you ever?
Have you ever eaten sushi?
I've never ridden it, not even once.
When I was a kid, I once had a cat.
“There was a time when”, with a time word.
Sometimes
It happens from time to time
I sometimes oversleep.
Often goes with 時々, よく or たまに.
The train is sometimes late.
It's sometimes cold in the morning.
Adjectives work too.
Careful
It needs some distance
Past + ことがある is about experience in your life, so it can't refer to something very recent: 昨日行ったことがあります is wrong. Say 昨日行きました. And it's about something unusual enough to be an experience, so “I've eaten breakfast” sounds odd.
Check yourself
Which meaning?
Your turn
Past or present?
Find the mistake
Tap the part that's wrong.
。
Say it yourself
Getting to know you
A coworker asks whether you've ever had natto. You've tried it once, and you sometimes eat it for breakfast.
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