Have done with たことがあります

～たことがあります ~ ta koto ga arimasu Have done before

たことがあります (ta koto ga arimasu) says you have done something at some time in your life: 富士山に登ったことがあります, I have climbed Mt Fuji.

Level: JLPT N5, beginner
Type: Verb forms
English links: present perfect, ever and never, past participles

What it means

This pattern talks about experience. Take the casual past, the た form, and add ことがあります. Word for word, it is "there is the fact that I did it". 富士山に登ったことがあります: I have climbed Mt Fuji, at least once.

The negative is ことがありません: 行ったことがありません, I have never been. Ask with か: 食べたことがありますか, have you ever eaten it?

Do not use it for a specific time, like 昨日 (yesterday). You say 昨日行きました, not 昨日行ったことがあります. Japanese keeps experience and specific events apart, the same as English does.

This is good news for English teachers. It maps nicely onto the present perfect for experience: "Have you ever...?" and "I have never...". Use it as a bridge.

How to build it

Pattern	How it works
行きます → 行った → 行ったことがあります ikimasu → itta → itta koto ga arimasu	Make the た form, add ことがあります.
～たことがありません ~ ta koto ga arimasen	Have never done it.
～たことがありますか ~ ta koto ga arimasu ka	Have you ever...? Answer はい、あります or いいえ、ありません.
一度 / 二回 + ～たことがあります ichido / nikai + ~ ta koto ga arimasu	Add how many times.

Examples

富士山に登ったことがあります。 fujisan ni nobotta koto ga arimasu. I have climbed Mt Fuji.
納豆を食べたことがありますか。 nattou o tabeta koto ga arimasu ka. Have you ever eaten natto?
海外に行ったことがありません。 kaigai ni itta koto ga arimasen. I have never been abroad.
着物を一度着たことがあります。 kimono o ichido kita koto ga arimasu. I have worn a kimono once.
その映画は二回見たことがあります。 sono eiga wa nikai mita koto ga arimasu. I have seen that film twice.

How English says it

English uses the present perfect: "have" plus the past participle, the third form of the verb (gone, eaten, seen). "I have climbed Mt Fuji." "Have you ever eaten natto?" "I have never been abroad."

Two words help: "ever" in questions, "never" in negatives. Do not use a finished time like "yesterday" or "in 2019" with this form. As in Japanese, a specific time needs the simple past: "I climbed it in 2019."

For visits, English uses "been to": "I have been to Kyoto" means I went and came back.

Why it can make English hard

The past participle is a new verb form, and the irregular ones (eaten, seen, written) take time to learn. Students often use the simple past instead: "I have ate."
Some students add a finished time: "I have visited Kyoto last year." In Japanese, only the pattern changes. In English, the whole tense changes.
"Have you ever been to...?" uses "been". Many learners say "Have you ever went to...?"

Mistakes you will hear

I have ate natto. I have eaten natto. Use the past participle after "have".
I have been to Kyoto last year. I went to Kyoto last year. A finished time needs the simple past. Japanese has the same rule.
Have you ever went to Okinawa? Have you ever been to Okinawa? For visits, English uses "been to".
I have not climbed Mt Fuji ever. I have never climbed Mt Fuji. "Never" goes between "have" and the verb.

In the classroom

Find someone who: students walk round asking "Have you ever...?" (been to Hokkaido, seen snow monkeys, sung karaoke). A "Yes, I have" gets a follow-up in the past: "When did you go?" Both tenses appear side by side.
Put 行ったことがあります next to "have been" on the board. Tell students that the Japanese they already know does the same job. It takes the fear out of a "new tense".
Drill the common irregular participles in short sets: been, eaten, seen, gone, done, made. Five a lesson is enough.

Practice

Try each one, then open it to check.

1. Fill the gap: 北海道に行った＿＿＿あります。 (I have been to Hokkaido.)

Answer: ことが

The pattern is the た form + ことがあります.
2. Translate: すしを作ったことがありません。

Answer: I have never made sushi.

ことがありません is "have never". "Made" is the past participle of "make".
3. A student writes "I have seen that movie yesterday." Fix it.

Answer: I saw that movie yesterday.

"Yesterday" is a finished time, so English needs the simple past.
4. Answer in Japanese, and say no: 富士山に登ったことがありますか。

Answer: いいえ、ありません。

The short answer uses only あります or ありません.