Difference between revisions of "Expressing experiences with "guo""

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* 我 <em>没</em> 听 <em>过</em> 他 的 歌 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méi</em> tīng <em>guò</em> tā de gē.</span> <span class="trans">He has not heard his song.</span>
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* 我 <em>没</em> 听 <em>过</em> 他 的 歌 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méi</em> tīng <em>guo</em> tā de gē.</span> <span class="trans">He has not heard his song.</span>
* 你 <em>没</em> 学 <em>过</em> 中文 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>méi</em> xué <em>guò</em> Zhōngwén?</span> <span class="trans"> You have never studied Chinese before?</span>
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* 你 <em>没</em> 学 <em>过</em> 这 个 词 吗? <span class="pinyin"><em>méi</em> xué <em>guo</em> zhè ge cí.</span> <span class="trans">I have never studied this word.</span>
* 你 <em>没</em> 看 <em>过</em> 这 个 电影 吗 ? <span class="pinyin"><em>méi</em> kàn <em>guò</em> zhè ge diànyǐng ma?</span> <span class="trans"> You have never seen this movie?</span>
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* 奶奶 <em>没</em><em>过</em> 咖啡。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méi</em> zuò <em>guo</em> zhèyàng de gōngzuò.</span> <span class="trans">I have never done this kind of work.</span>
* <em>没</em> <em>过</em> 这 个 词 吗? <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méi</em> xué <em>guò</em> zhè ge cí.</span> <span class="trans">I have never studied this word.</span>
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* 你父母 <em>没</em> 见 <em>过</em> 你女朋友 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ fùmǔ <em>méi</em> jiàn <em>guo</em> nǐ nǚpéngyou ma?</span> <span class="trans"> Your parents haven't seen your girlfriend yet?</span>
* <em>没</em> 见 <em>过</em> 那 个 人 吗 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>méi</em> jiàn <em>guò</em> nà gè rén ma?</span> <span class="trans">Haven't you seen that person?</span>
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* 他们 都 <em>没</em> <em>过</em> 飞机。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen dōu <em>méi</em> zuò <em>guo</em> fēijī.</span> <span class="trans">They've all never been on a airplane.</span>
* <em>没</em> <em>过</em> 这样 的 工作 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>méi</em> zuò <em>guò</em> zhèyàng de gōngzuò.</span> <span class="trans">I have never done this kind of work.</span>
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Revision as of 08:55, 28 September 2015

The aspect particle 过 (guò) is used to indicate that an action has been experienced in the past.

Basic Pattern

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 过 + Obj.

What this expresses is that the verb has been done at least once before, without specifying a particular time. 过 (guò) is used to talk about whether something has ever happened - whether it has been experienced.

Examples

In English, if you're asking a question and really trying to figure out if someone has ever done something before, we tend to use the words "ever" and "before." In Chinese, 过 (guò) alone expresses this, without the need for additional words.

  • 你 学 中文 吗? Nǐ xué guo Zhōngwén ma? Have you ever studied Chinese?
  • 你 见 那 个 人 吗? Nǐ jiàn guo nà gè rén ma? Have you seen that person before?
  • 我们 都 听说 这 个 地方。Wǒmen dōu tīngshuō guo zhège dìfang. We've all heard about this place.
  • 我 做 这样 的 工作 。 Wǒ zuò guo zhèyàng de gōngzuò. I have done work like this before.
  • 你 看 这 个 电影 吗 ? Nǐ kàn guo zhè ge diànyǐng ma? Have you seen this movie?


Negating a 过 sentence

Because 过 (guò) is used to talk about past actions, it should be negated with 没 (méi).

Structure

Subj. + 没 + Verb + 过 + Obj.

Examples

Note that when you translate these examples into English, "have never" [done something] is often more natural, indicating that someone lacks the experience of having done something, rather than just "have not" [done something].

  • 他 的 歌 。 méi tīng guo tā de gē. He has not heard his song.
  • 这 个 词 吗? méi xué guo zhè ge cí. I have never studied this word.
  • 奶奶 咖啡。 méi zuò guo zhèyàng de gōngzuò. I have never done this kind of work.
  • 你父母 你女朋友 吗?Nǐ fùmǔ méi jiàn guo nǐ nǚpéngyou ma? Your parents haven't seen your girlfriend yet?
  • 他们 都 飞机。 Tāmen dōu méi zuò guo fēijī. They've all never been on a airplane.


Using 过 with 了

You'll sometimes see 过 (guò) used together with 了 (le). This can be a little confusing, as it doesn't seeing to be following the rules laid out above. For more on this special usage of 过 (guò), see the article on using 过 (guò) with 了 (le).

See Also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites