Experiences

There's a specific way to express that a person has or has not had the experience of doing something. I can't remember if I've done a post on this before, but it's frequently used when getting to know people, so it's very handy.

[past tense verb, plain form] + ことがある

More literally, this says something like "I have had the experience of doing X." The verb ある is conjugated to state whether or not that experience exists.

日本に行ったことがある。
I've been to Japan before.

韓国に行ったことがない。
I've never been to Korea before.

The phrase can also easily be transformed into a question.

アリスちゃん、あの映画を見たことがありますか。
Alice, have you ever seen that movie before?

To answer, Alice can either repeat the entire clause, or she can simply say あります or ありません depending on whether she's seen the movie.

リーさん、馬肉を食べたことがありますか。
Lee-san, have you ever eaten horse meat?

ジムは野球をしたことがないよね。
Jim has never played baseball before.

ライト君、ピアノを弾いたことがある？
Laito, have you ever played piano?

あの遊園地に行ったことがあるよ。
I've been to that amusement park before.