Experience with たことがある

Core meaning and form

Use plain past verb + ことがある; negate ある to say an experience has never occurred. It is not used for a specific dated event when ordinary past narration is enough.

• Form: Use plain past verb + ことがある; negate ある to say an experience has never occurred.
• Core use: The pattern reports whether someone has had an experience at least once before now.
• Context: It is not used for a specific dated event when ordinary past narration is enough.

Examples in context

Common errors

• Do not select this pattern from an English translation alone; check its attachment and discourse function.
• Keep the surrounding sentence in a consistent plain, polite, spoken, or written register.

Quick summary

• Use plain past verb + ことがある; negate ある to say an experience has never occurred.
• The pattern reports whether someone has had an experience at least once before now.
• It is not used for a specific dated event when ordinary past narration is enough.