过/過

guo

aspectual particle

Common Errors

The aspectual particle 过/過 is used to indicate that an action has been experienced at least once in the past. It often results in an experience coming from the action and sometimes it is also called “experience marker”.

1. Incorrect position

The learners might place 过/過 in the wrong position within serial verb constructions, sentences with separable verbs or more complex sentences.

2. Omission error

The learners might omit 过/過 in negative sentences. This error often arises due to the structural similarity with the negative sentence with the aspectual particle 了1, which places 没(有)/沒(有) in front of the verb and the particle 了1 is omitted after the verb.

3. Error in negative sentences


The learners might mistakenly use 不 instead of 没/沒 in negative and interrogative sentences.

4. 过/過 with inappropriate verbs

过/過 is typically used with verbs describing actions that can be repeated. For this reason, 过 does not usually follow verbs like 出生, 死, 走 or 开始/開始, as these actions are inherently not repeatable. For example, 出生 and 死 are events that occur only once in a person’s life, but this also applies to events like 毕业/畢業 and 结婚/結婚, which are culturally viewed as once-in-a-lifetime events.

Exceptions depending on the context are possible, mostly if someone refers explicitly to multiple instances of such events (e.g., remarriage or multiple graduations) or in negative sentences.

Additionally, 过/過 cannot be used with verbs referring to mental states like 知道, 认识/認識, 认得/認得, 希望 and 记得/記得.

However, the verbs 叫 and 姓 can be followed by 过/過 because these verbs can express actions or states that have changed.

5. Confusion between the particles 过/過 and 了1

The aspectual particle 过/過 is used to indicate that the action of the verb is something that has been experienced in the past. The aspectual particle 了1 is used to indicate an action that has occurred and has been completed in the past, usually in a specified time, but also in the present or future.

她去了中国两次。/ 她去了中國兩次。
She went to China twice.
(了 only indicates that the event of going to China was completed twice.)

她去过中国两次。/ 她去過中國兩次。
She has been to China twice.
(过/過 focuses on it having been experienced going to China twice in the past.)

她在这个银行工作了五年。/ 她在這個銀行工作了五年。
She worked in this bank for five years.
(This statement emphasizes that the act of working in this bank for five years was successfully concluded.)

她在这个银行工作过五年。/ 她在這個銀行工作過五年。
She worked in this bank for five years.
(This could be a statement emphasizing that the act of working in this bank for five years gave her experience and knowledge about the working conditions there.)

The modal particle 了2 can also appear together with the aspectual particles 过/過 or 了1 in a sentence. The presence of both the modal and the aspectual particle 了1 in a sentence emphasizes the completion of the action or its relevance to the present. The presence of the modal particle 了2 in a sentence with the aspectual particle 过/過 only adds emphasis to that experience.

A: 她去了中国没有？/ 她去了中國沒有？
Did she go to China?
B: 她去了中国两次了。/ 她去了中國兩次了。
She went to China twice.
(She is probably still in China now. This reply could be a statement emphasizing that the action of going to China has happened twice and might still have ongoing relevance.)

A: 她从来没去过中国吗？/ 她從來沒去過中國嗎？
Has she never been to China?
B: 她去过中国两次了。/ 她去過中國兩次了。
She has been to China twice.
(Maybe she is not in China now. This reply could be a statement refuting the claim that she has never been to China, regardless of whether she is in China right now.)

6. Contextually inappropriate usage

Learners might omit 过/過 in sentences that are meant to indicate an action that has been experienced at least once in the past but is no longer in progress or a state that once existed but no longer does.

Note that 过/過 cannot be used to describe past actions that were performed regularly.

In serial verb constructions, 过/過 follows only one verb whose experience is the focus of the statement.

我没进过厨房做饭。/ 我沒進過廚房做飯。
I have never entered the kitchen to cook.
(The focus is on the experience of entering the kitchen. The sentence suggests that the speaker has never entered the kitchen for the purpose of cooking.)

我没进厨房做过饭。/ 我沒進廚房做過飯。
I have never gone into the kitchen to cook.
(The focus is on the experience of cooking in the kitchen. The speaker might have entered the kitchen before but never cooked there.)

L1 Interferences Errors

In order to convey the meaning of having ever or never done something before, which is expressed by the aspectual particle 过/過, the words “before”, “ever” or “never” and the present perfect are often used in English. Learners might overuse these words in Chinese, preferring the form with the adverbs to the simple one with only 过/過.

I have been to this restaurant before.
我以前来过这个饭店。/ 我以前來過這個飯店。
我来过这个饭店。/ 我來過這個飯店。

I have never studied this word before.
我从来没学过这个词。/ 我從來沒學過這個詞。
我没学过这个词。/ 我沒學過這個詞。

However, the use of 过/過 cannot be overextended in all the situations where the present perfect is used in English, mostly for actions started in the past and continuing in the present or when the time period referred to has not finished. For example:

She has been working in the bank for five years.
她在这个银行工作了五年了。/ 她在這個銀行工作了五年了。
(And she is still working there now.)

I have been working hard this week.
这周我一直很努力地工作。/ 這周我一直很努力地工作。

Another common error for English learners is to use 过/過 with adverbs like 常常, which conflicts with the nature of 过/過 that is used to indicate past experiences but cannot describe actions performed regularly or habitually.

When I was young, I travelled to China quite often.
*我小时候常常去过中国旅行。/ 我小時候常常去過中國旅行。
我小时候常常去中国旅行。/ 我小時候常常去中國旅行。