Mandarin Chinese: Asking About Past Experiences with 过 and 了
Learn to ask others what they did in the past using Mandarin past-tense questions with 过 and 了. Practice a natural conversation about last weekend.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
In Mandarin Chinese, you don't change verb endings to talk about the past. Instead, you use time words and particles like 过 (guò) and 了 (le). This lesson teaches you to ask others about their past experiences—not to narrate your own. You'll learn question patterns such as 你上周末做了什么？(Nǐ shàng zhōumò zuò le shénme?) 'What did you do last weekend?' and 你去过北京吗？(Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?) 'Have you been to Beijing?' By the end, you'll be able to ask friends about their weekends, trips, and past activities naturally.
By the end, you can…
- ask someone what they did last weekend using 你上周末做了什么？
- ask whether someone has ever done something using the 过 experience marker.
- use 了 to ask about completed actions in the past.
- respond appropriately when someone asks me about my past experiences.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
你上周末做了什么？
What did you do last weekend?
Nǐ shàng zhōumò zuò le shénme?
Use this to ask a friend about their weekend. 了 (le) here marks the action 做 (zuò, 'do') as completed.
你去过北京吗？
Have you been to Beijing?
Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?
The particle 过 (guo) after the verb 去 (qù, 'go') asks about life experience—whether they have ever been there.
你昨天做了什么？
What did you do yesterday?
Nǐ zuótiān zuò le shénme?
Same pattern as the weekend question, but with 昨天 (zuótiān, 'yesterday'). Use 了 for a completed action.
你吃过中国菜吗？
Have you ever eaten Chinese food?
Nǐ chī guo Zhōngguó cài ma?
过 (guo) after 吃 (chī, 'eat') asks about experience up to now. The answer can be 吃过 (chī guo) or 没吃过 (méi chī guo).
你什么时候去的？
When did you go?
Nǐ shénme shíhou qù de?
This 是...的 (shì...de) pattern asks for details about a past event, like time or place. The 是 is often omitted in speech, as here.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To ask about a completed past action, use: Subject + Time + Verb + 了 + 什么？ For example, 你上周末做了什么？ (Nǐ shàng zhōumò zuò le shénme?) 'What did you do last weekend?' The time word 上周末 (shàng zhōumò, 'last weekend') sets the past, and 了 (le) shows the action is completed. To ask about life experience, use: Subject + Verb + 过 + Object + 吗？ For example, 你去过北京吗？ (Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?) 'Have you been to Beijing?' Here 过 (guo) marks the action as an experience you have had. You can also ask 你吃过中国菜吗？ (Nǐ chī guo Zhōngguó cài ma?) 'Have you ever eaten Chinese food?'
When to use it
Use 了 (le) questions when you know or assume the action happened at a specific past time, like 昨天 (zuótiān, 'yesterday') or 上周末 (shàng zhōumò, 'last weekend'). Example: 你昨天做了什么？ (Nǐ zuótiān zuò le shénme?) 'What did you do yesterday?' Use 过 (guo) questions when asking about experience at any time in life, without a specific time. Example: 你去过上海吗？ (Nǐ qù guo Shànghǎi ma?) 'Have you ever been to Shanghai?' If you mention a specific past time, 了 is the natural choice: 你昨天去了吗？ (Nǐ zuótiān qù le ma?) 'Did you go yesterday?' is more natural than 你昨天去过吗？ (Nǐ zuótiān qù guo ma?).
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
你上周末做了什么？
What did you do last weekend?Nǐ shàng zhōumò zuò le shénme?我去看电影了。你呢？
I went to see a movie. And you?Wǒ qù kàn diànyǐng le. Nǐ ne?我去公园了。你去过那个新公园吗？
I went to the park. Have you been to that new park?Wǒ qù gōngyuán le. Nǐ qù guo nàge xīn gōngyuán ma?没去过。好玩吗？
No, I haven't. Is it fun?Méi qù guo. Hǎowán ma?A little context goes a long way
In Mandarin, asking about past experiences is common among friends and acquaintances, but direct questions about salary, age, or marriage can feel intrusive. When asking about travel or food experiences, it's usually safe and friendly. Use 吗 (ma) to soften yes/no questions, and consider adding 呢 (ne) to bounce the question back: 你呢？ (Nǐ ne?) 'What about you?' This keeps the conversation balanced. Also, 过 (guo) questions often imply 'ever in your life,' so they can be a good way to get to know someone without prying.
One thing to watch for
Adding 了 (le) to a question about life experience, as in 你去过了北京吗？ (Nǐ qù le guo Běijīng ma?)
Try this instead: Use either 过 (guo) or 了 (le), not both in this pattern. For experience, say 你去过北京吗？ (Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?) 'Have you been to Beijing?' For a completed trip at a specific time, say 你昨天去了北京吗？ (Nǐ zuótiān qù le Běijīng ma?) 'Did you go to Beijing yesterday?'
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask 'What did you do last weekend?' in Mandarin?
Show a sample answer
你上周末做了什么？ (Nǐ shàng zhōumò zuò le shénme?)
This uses the time word 上周末, the verb 做 with 了, and 什么 for 'what.' You could also say 你上周末干什么了？ (Nǐ shàng zhōumò gàn shénme le?) with similar meaning.
2Translate: 'Have you ever been to China?' Use 过.
Show a sample answer
你去过中国吗？ (Nǐ qù guo Zhōngguó ma?)
The particle 过 after 去 marks experience. 吗 makes it a yes/no question. A negative answer would be 没去过 (méi qù guo).
3Which is correct for asking about a specific past time: 你昨天去过吗？ or 你昨天去了吗？
Show a sample answer
你昨天去了吗？ (Nǐ zuótiān qù le ma?)
With a specific past time like 昨天, 了 is the natural choice; 过 is for general life experience without a specific time. Both may be heard in some contexts, but the standard pattern prefers 了 here.
To ask about past experiences in Mandarin, use 了 for completed actions at a specific time (你上周末做了什么？) and 过 for life experience (你去过北京吗？). Keep time words and particles in the right order, and avoid combining 了 and 过 in the same question.
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