Have you ever?

Have you ever?

You already know how to say you **finished** something just now. But what about something you have done **at some point in your life**, like “I've been hiking before” or “I've never tried that”? Cantonese marks that with a different little word straight after the verb. Let's see how to ask and answer “have you ever?”.

Ever done it

V + 過 = have ever done V

Put 過 straight after a verb to say you have done it at some time before: 去過 means “have been”, 食過 means “have eaten before”. To ask, add 未呀? at the end: 你去過茶樓未呀? means “have you ever been to a dim sum restaurant?”. To answer yes, repeat the verb with 過 (去過). To say not yet, use 未. To say you have never done it, put 冇 in front: 冇去過. Don't confuse it with 咗, which just says you already did it once (食咗 = “I've eaten”, food's done); 食過 = “I have eaten it before, I know what it's like”.

Ever done it

To say you have done something **at some point before**, add the experiential marker straight after the verb. Ask with “not yet?” on the end, answer yes by repeating the verb plus that marker, and say **never** by putting the negative in front. Keep it apart from the finished marker you already know: one says you already did it just now, this one says you have done it before and know what it's like.