Practice JLPTHow 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 | Have done before | N4 |
| ことがある kotogaaru | Sometimes / there are times when | N4 |
ことがある kotogaaru
Have done before
Someone has done something; someone has had an experience doing something; there was a time when ~
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スーザンは一時ジャズがとても好きだったことがある。
There was a time when Susan liked jazz a lot.
-
レタスがとても高かったことがある・あります。
There was a time when lettuce was very expensive.
ことがある kotogaaru
Sometimes / there are times when
-
この店のミルクはたまに古いことがある。
Occasionally there are times when the milk in this store is old.
-
たかしは朝ご飯を食べずに学校へ行くことがある。
There are times when Takashi goes to school without eating breakfast.
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 — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.