N5 · Unit 6
Lesson 21Experience, after an action, and advice
Build plain past forms, talk about experience, order actions, and give affirmative or negative advice.
What you learn
Build plain past forms, talk about experience, order actions, and give affirmative or negative advice.
Learning points
- Plain past verb forms
- Experience and action order
- Advice
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
動詞たことが あります ・ 動詞た後で ・ 動詞たほうが いいです / 動詞ないほうが いいですBeginner explanation
The verb た-form marks a completed past action. Use 〜たことがあります for experience, 〜た後で for action order, 〜たほうがいいです for positive advice, and 〜ないほうがいいです to advise against an action.
Understand these sentences first
- 日本料理を 作ったことが あります。Nihon ryōri o tsukutta koto ga arimasu
I have cooked Japanese food.
- 仕事が 終わった後で、買い物します。shigoto ga owatta ato de, kaimono shimasu
I will shop after work ends.
- 熱が あります。今日は 休んだほうが いいです。netsu ga arimasu. kyō wa yasunda hō ga ii desu
You have a fever. You should rest today.
- 夜 遅く コーヒーを 飲まないほうが いいです。yoru osoku kōhī o nomanai hō ga ii desu
It is better not to drink coffee late at night.
Core vocabulary
- 作りますつくりますmake; cook
- 終わりますおわりますfinish
- 休みますやすみますrest
- 熱ねつfever
- 後あとafter
- 経験けいけんexperience
- 登りますのぼりますclimb
- 遅くおそくlate
Grammar, one point at a time
The ta-form follows the same sound pattern as the te-form
Vて／Vで → Vた／VだFor Group 1, replace て with た and で with だ. Group 2 removes ます and adds た. 来ます and します become 来た and した. 行きます remains the exception 行った.
Examples
- 書きます → 書いて → 書いたwrote
- 読みます → 読んで → 読んだread
- 待ちます → 待って → 待ったwaited
- 行きます → 行って → 行ったwent
Vたことがあります expresses past experience
Vた ことが ありますThe pattern presents an action as life experience rather than locating one specific event in time. There is no fixed six-month threshold. A definite event such as yesterday or last week normally uses the simple past. The negative is Vたことがありません, and 一度も can emphasize never.
Examples
- 北海道へ 行った ことが あります。I have been to Hokkaido.
- 歌舞伎を 見た ことが ありますか。Have you seen kabuki?
- いいえ、一度も 見た ことが ありません。No, I have never seen it.
- 昨日 歌舞伎を 見ました。I saw kabuki yesterday.
Vた後で means after completing an action
Vた 後で／N の 後でThe preceding action takes the ta-form, and a noun takes の. The pattern emphasizes completing A before B. A te-form can connect actions when this completion contrast is unnecessary.
Examples
- 仕事が 終わった 後で、映画を 見ます。I watch a film after work ends.
- シャワーを 浴びた 後で、プールに 入ります。I enter the pool after taking a shower.
- 授業の 後で、先生に 質問します。I ask the teacher after class.
Vたほうがいいです advises doing something
Vた ほうが いいですPut the advised action in the ta-form. This is more direct than a casual invitation. よ, と思います, or a question about the situation can soften it, but medical, legal, and safety decisions require more than a language pattern.
Examples
- 連休ですから、ホテルを 予約した ほうが いいです。It is a holiday period, so you should reserve a hotel.
- 分からない 時は、駅員に 聞いた ほうが いいですよ。If you are unsure, it is better to ask station staff.
Vないほうがいいです advises against an action
Vない ほうが いいですNegative advice uses the nai-form, not the ta-form. It commonly warns about a risk or unsuitable action. Do not present a personal preference as an absolute rule.
Examples
- そんなに 急がない ほうが いいです。It is better not to rush so much.
- 暗い 道を 一人で 歩かない ほうが いいです。It is better not to walk alone on a dark road.
Vましょうか proposes joint action or offers help
Vます-stem ましょうかFor joint action, accept with はい、そうしましょう. For an offer of help, accept with はい、お願いします. When declining, いいえ、大丈夫です or 〜ないでください is clearer than いいえ alone.
Examples
- 少し 休みましょうか。— はい、そうしましょう。Shall we take a short break? — Yes, let's.
- 荷物を 持ちましょうか。— はい、お願いします。Shall I carry your luggage? — Yes, please.
- 窓を 閉めましょうか。— いいえ、閉めないでください。Shall I close the window? — No, please leave it open.
Expressions and situations
Experience asks whether it has happened; simple past tells when it happened
富士山に登ったことがあります answers an experience question. 去年、富士山に登りました narrates a specific event. A recent action may still use ことがあります when categorised as experience, but a clear time normally favours the simple past.
- この 店に 来た ことが ありますか。Have you been to this shop?
- 先週、この 店に 来ました。I came to this shop last week.
そのほうがいいです accepts advice or selects that option
Compare nouns with リンゴのほう. Add のほう after これ, それ, or あれ, but attach ほう directly to この, その, or あの. After a proposal, そのほうがいいですね agrees that the suggested option is better.
- 電車と バスでは、電車の ほうが 速いです。The train is faster than the bus.
- 先に 予約します。— その ほうが いいですね。I will reserve first. — That is better.
連休 is consecutive days off; Golden Week is a named holiday period
連休 can describe a weekend joined to public holidays. The late-April to early-May holiday cluster is normally called ゴールデンウィーク, not a literal 黄金週間. The actual number of days off depends on the calendar and workplace or school.
- 連休は ホテルが 混みます。Hotels are busy during consecutive holidays.
- ゴールデンウィークに 旅行します。I will travel during Golden Week.
何度か means several unspecified times; 何度も means many times
Adding か to a question word forms an indefinite quantity, as in 何人か or 何冊か. It is not itself a question. Ask the number of times with 何度.
- その 店へ 何度か 行った ことが あります。I have been to that shop several times.
- 何度も 練習しました。I practised many times.
- 何度 行きましたか。How many times did you go?
Time or age + 過ぎ means past that point
9時過ぎ means shortly after nine. 30過ぎ means in one's early thirties. It is approximate and does not cover every value above the number.
- 公演は 9時過ぎに 終わりました。The performance ended shortly after nine.
- その 人は 30過ぎです。That person is in their early thirties.
それとも links alternatives in a question
It commonly links alternatives in a question: 先に食べますか。それとも、後で食べますか. Statements more often use または or あるいは, depending on register.
- 電車で 行きますか。それとも、バスで 行きますか。Will you go by train or by bus?
そんなに often combines with a negative to mean not that much
Use そんなに急がないでください or そんなに高くありません. It can also mean that much in an affirmative sentence, with the nuance determined by context.
- そんなに たくさん 食べない ほうが いいです。It is better not to eat that much.
幕間 is an intermission; check the programme for its length
Kabuki may be divided into daytime and evening programmes or several parts, and single-act tickets and running times vary. Official programmes list each act and intermission. Do not assume every programme lasts a fixed four hours.
- 幕間に 食事を しましょうか。Shall we eat during the intermission?
What you should be able to do
- Convert Group 1, 2, and 3 verbs from the masu-form to the ta-form and check the 行きます exception.
- Distinguish life experience from specific past events such as yesterday or last week.
- Sequence two actions with Vた後で and Nの後で and compare them with Vる前に.
- Give positive and negative advice for real situations without presenting it as absolute.
- Distinguish joint proposals from offers of help with ましょうか and use suitable replies.
- Complete an original theatre plan: ask about experience, choose a programme, plan the intermission, and verify that day's times.
Culture and real use
Kabuki stages and shamisen: check the programme, then understand the tradition
Kabuki emerged in the early seventeenth century and has more than four hundred years of history as a popular Japanese theatre tradition. Shochiku's official Kabuki guide and UNESCO describe the continuing all-male performance tradition; specialists in female roles are called onnagata. The stage often includes a hanamichi passage through the audience, while live music uses instruments such as shamisen, drums, and flutes. Kabuki was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Shamisen history reaches back to the Chinese sanxian, which developed into the sanshin after reaching Ryukyu in the fifteenth century and then reached mainland Japan through Ryukyu in the late sixteenth century. Do not assume every programme lasts a fixed four hours. Current official schedules publish each act, finish time, and intermission, and some performances have no intermission. Follow the theatre and programme notices for food, photography, late admission, and single-act tickets.
- 歌舞伎を 見た ことが ありますか。Have you seen kabuki?
- 公演の 前に、上演時間を 調べた ほうが いいです。It is better to check the running time before the performance.
- 幕間に 食事を しましょうか。Shall we eat during the intermission?