You finished this day
Daily lessons · Day 29 of 90
Things you have done before
Experience
了 says something finished. 过 says you have done it at some point in your life, which is a different idea and a different character. This is the last piece of grammar you need for ordinary conversation about your past.
过 for experience
It goes straight after the verb, like 了, but it means ever.
Why it works
过 is said with a neutral tone here, guo rather than guò, which is how you tell it apart from the ordinary verb 过 meaning to pass. Unlike 了, it survives the negative: 没去过 keeps the 过, because you are still talking about experience, just the absence of it. 过 goes exactly where 了 went on day 19, straight after the verb, which is why the two get confused.
过 against 了
The difference is whether you mean an event or a life experience.
Why it works
我去了北京 answers what did you do; 我去过北京 answers have you ever. English uses a different tense for each, went and have been, so the split will feel natural once you stop looking for a past tense and start asking which question you are answering.
How many times
次 counts occasions, and it goes after the verb.
Why it works
第 in front of a number turns it into first, second, third, with no irregular forms to learn: 第一, 第二, 第三. It is the same pattern behind 第一次, the first time, and it will turn up constantly in instructions and directions.
第一次来中国吗 is the standard opener
Is this your first time in China is probably the question you will be asked most often, along with how long you have been here and whether you can use chopsticks. The answers are short and the conversation is genuinely friendly rather than a test, so a simple 第一次 or 第二次 followed by your own question keeps it going.
Carried over from earlier days
Say each one out loud before you look at the English.
Today’s words 12
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 6 right to finish the day.
What does 过 after a verb mean?
- you have done it at some point in your life
- you have just finished it
- you are doing it now
- you will do it
Show the answer
you have done it at some point in your life 了 is completion, 过 is experience.
Type I've been to China in pinyin.
Show the answer
wǒ qùguo Zhōngguó 过 with a neutral tone, straight after the verb.
Which is correct for I've never been?
- 我没去过 wǒ méi qùguo
- 我没去了 wǒ méi qù le
- 我不去过 wǒ bú qùguo
- 我没过去 wǒ méi guòqù
Show the answer
我没去过 wǒ méi qùguo 没 for the negative, and unlike 了, the 过 stays.
What is the difference between 我去了北京 and 我去过北京?
- the first is a specific trip, the second is a life experience
- the first is the future
- the second is a plan
- there is no difference
Show the answer
the first is a specific trip, the second is a life experience Went versus have been.
How is 过 pronounced when it marks experience?
- guo, with a neutral tone
- guò, with a falling tone
- guō, with a level tone
- guó, with a rising tone
Show the answer
guo, with a neutral tone That is how you tell it from the verb 过 meaning to pass.
What does 第 do in front of a number?
- makes it an ordinal, like first or second
- makes it plural
- makes it a question
- makes it approximate
Show the answer
makes it an ordinal, like first or second 第一, 第二, 第三, with no irregular forms.
Which means next time, said as a gentle way to decline now?
- 下次吧 xià cì ba
- 第一次 dì yī cì
- 两次 liǎng cì
- 几次 jǐ cì
Show the answer
下次吧 xià cì ba 吧 softens it into a suggestion rather than a refusal.
Type how many times have you been in pinyin.
Show the answer
nǐ qùguo jǐ cì 次 counts occasions and goes after the verb.
Question 1 of 8
Writing practice optional
Every character from today, in the order it came up. Watch it, trace it, then write it from memory.
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.
Character 1 of 25
This lesson is written by an English speaker who learned Mandarin as a second language, and it is waiting on a check by a native speaker. If you spot something off, please tell us and we will fix it.