过 (guo) Part. 1: The Experiential Aspectual Particle

We talked about the three usages of the particle 了 in the previous blog. In this blog, we are going to learn 了 le's good friend, the experiential aspectual particle "过 guo", which is used to talk about whether something has ever happened or whether it has been experienced. For example, if you're asking whether someone has ever done something before, people tend to use the words "ever" and "before" in English. In Chinese, 过 (guo) alone expresses this, without the need for additional words. So, the structure is: Subject + Verb + 过 + Object. For example,

• 他去过中国。He has been to China.

• 我学过日语。I have learned Japanese. (I have experiences in learning Japanese.)

• 我读过这本书。I have read this book. 

• 你听过王菲的歌吗？Have you ever listened to Faye WONG's song? 

Because 过 (guo) is used to talk about past actions, it should be negated with 没 (méi) and the structure is Subject + 没 + Verb + 过 + Object. For example,

• 我爷爷没用过智能手机。My paternal grandpa has not used a smart phone. ( This structure is indicating that he lacks the experience of using the smart phone, which is different from having not used it at all.)

• 你没学过中文？ Have you never ever learned Chinese?

• 你有没有吃过四川菜？Have you ever tried Sichuan food?

Now please translate the following sentences:
1. She has visited Tian'anmen and climbed the Great Wall.
2. I have been to UB. It is a very nice campus. 
3. I have been to that Sichuan restaurant, whose Mapo tofu is pretty authentic. 
4. He can speak Chinese but he has not learned it, because he has worked in China for many years. 
5. Have you ever met him before? No, I haven't seen him before. This is the first time I meet him.
6. My maternal grandfather has not used a computer. 
7. What does this character mean? We haven't learned it yet.

Reference:

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_experiences_with_%22guo%22