How to tell them apart
The first ことがある attaches to the past tense (た-form) and reports a completed experience or a state that once existed, like ジャズが好きだったことがある. The second attaches to the dictionary form and describes something that occasionally happens now, like 朝ご飯を食べずに行くことがある. Swapping the forms sounds wrong because past-tense + ことがある means it no longer happens, while dictionary-form + ことがある means it still can.
- ことがある Use たことがある after a past-tense verb or adjective to talk about a past experience or state that once existed.
- ことがある Use ことがある after a dictionary-form verb to say that something sometimes happens or can happen.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| ことがある kotogaaru | Has the experience of having done something at least once | N4 |
| ことがある kotogaaru | Occasionally; there are occasions when something happens | N4 |
ことがある kotogaaru
Has the experience of having done something at least once
ことがある attaches to a plain-form past verb to say someone has had the experience of doing something, as in having been to Australia twice. With a plain non-past verb it can also mean something happens sometimes. Note that 話したいことがある uses こと as a plain noun meaning a thing to talk about.
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父はオーストラリアへ２度行ったことがある。
My father has been to Australia twice.
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話したいことがあるのだけど。
I want to talk to you about something.
ことがある kotogaaru
Occasionally; there are occasions when something happens
ことがある follows a plain-form verb and expresses that something happens occasionally, as in 間違いをすることがある. Note that the same shape with the past tense (行ったことがある) means experiential 'have done before', so tense distinguishes the two uses.
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父はオーストラリアへ２度行ったことがある。
My father has been to Australia twice.
-
話したいことがあるのだけど。
I want to talk to you about something.
ことがある and ことがある are both JLPT N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side on meanings, usage and example sentences, so you can tell them apart.