たことがある (takotogaaru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Have Done Before
Sandro Maglione
Get in touch with meたことがある (ta koto ga aru
which means having done before
) is an expression that is used to indicate something that has already been done in the past.
たことがある combines the noun こと and the expression がある to indicate that the fact of having performed the action "exists".
In this post we learn more about the meaning of たことがある, how it is formed, and when たことがある is used through real example sentences.
How to form the expression たことがある
Let's analyze how the expression たことがある is formed:
- ~た: The た form is used to conjugate in the past tense the verb preceding this expression
- こと: means
thing
, indicates that the thing has been done (the thing of having done...
) - が: Particle indicating the subject, in this case
the thing that was done...
- ある: means
exist
for inanimate entities (objects)
Literally this expression can be translated as the thing of having done this action exists
, which simply means having done (in the past).
この本を読んだことがある。
I have already read this book.
How and when to use たことがある
As we explained earlier, たことがある is used to say that the indicated action has already been done in the past.
この映画は前に見たことがある。
I've seen this movie before.
In this sentence we use the verb 見る, which means to see
. This verb is conjugated in its た form:
In the past tense 見た means to have seen
, with the addition of ことがある it indicates that the action has already been done
in the past:
We can therefore note how the expression 見たことがある literally indicates that the fact of having seen
(見たこと, 見た having seen
and こと the fact of
) is a thing that exists (がある).
Indicate something you've never done with たことがない
When instead you want to express something that you have never done, you can just change the verb ある (to exist
) into its negative form ない (to not exist
):
私はお菓子を買ったことがない。
I've never bought sweets.
たことがある to ask if you've ever done something
You can often find the expression たことがある when asking someone if he has ever done something.
In these cases it is enough to add the particle か (or の in certain contexts) to convert the whole sentence into a question:
テニスをしたことがありますか。
Have you ever played tennis?
Example sentences with たことがある
日本に行ったことがあるの?
Have you ever been to Japan?
東京に住んだことがない。
I have never lived in Tokyo.
富士山に登ったことがありますか
Have you ever climbed Mount Fuji?
Similar grammar points in Japanese 📚
から
から (kara) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Because
だけ
だけ (dake) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Only
たりする
たりする (tari suru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Do Such Things as A, B Etc
ちがう
ちがう (chigau) Meaning Japanese Grammar - No
まだ
まだ (mada) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Still
ないでください
ないでください (naide kudasai) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Please Do Not Do