Wednesday, June 27, 2018

grammar - たform+こと が/は(particle) ない?


Is it 'みたことがない' or 'みたことはない'? I'm not sure about the particle for this. Can both be used? Or which is better? (And why is it so?)


Thanks!



Answer



This is a good question because quite a few Japanese-learners do use the two as if they were completely interchangeable. They are not.




「みたことない」



makes a simple and neutral statement saying you have not seen something. You just do not have the experience. If I said:



「パイプオルガンを見{み}たことない。」



all it means is that I have not seen a pipe organ. Plain and simple. I am not implying anything.



「みたことない」




, however, implies either:


1) you have not seen A, but you have B (or C)


or


2) you have not seen something, but have done something else (other than seeing) with/about it.


This is all made possible by the use of the contrastive .


Thus, if I said:



「パイプオルガンを見たことない。」




I would be implying either:


1) I have never seen a pipe organ, but have seen another instrument.


or, for instance,


2) I have not seen a pipe organ but I have listened to pipe organ music.


The smallest words are often the most important words in Japanese. I am, of course, referring to our particles.


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