TOPIK I · LEVEL 2
-(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다
Says whether you have ever had a certain experience in the past: "I have (ever) done…" / "I have never done…".
경험·시도Trying & experienceHan: Experience refers to the past, so the verb before 적 must take the past modifier -(으)ㄴ, not the present -는.
Examples
저는 아직 한 번도 비행기를 탄 적이 없어요.I have never flown on a plane yet.
저는 제주도에 가 본 적이 있어요.I have been to Jeju Island.
한국 드라마를 본 적이 있어요?Have you ever watched a Korean drama?
어렸을 때 시장에서 길을 잃은 적이 있어요.When I was little, I once got lost at a market.
Don’t mix up
-(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다vs-아/어 본 적이 있다-아/어 본 적 adds "tried doing it on purpose"; for accidents or unwanted events use plain -(으)ㄴ 적: 다리를 다친 적이 있어요 (not 다쳐 본 적).
-(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다vs-(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다-(으)ㄹ 수 있다 is about ability or possibility, -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다 about past experience: 김치를 먹을 수 있어요 (I can eat it) vs 김치를 먹은 적이 있어요 (I have eaten it).-(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다vs-았/었어요 (simple past)Simple past reports a specific event, often with a time; -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다 asks or tells whether the experience exists at all: 어제 그 영화를 봤어요 vs 그 영화를 본 적이 있어요.
How to build it
V+(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다 (after a vowel: -ㄴ, after a consonant: -은)
가다 → 간 적이 있어요; 먹다 → 먹은 적이 없어요
- 적 is a noun, so the verb takes the past modifier -(으)ㄴ; do not use present -는 or future -(으)ㄹ here (가는 적, 갈 적 are wrong).
- It is usually used for notable or occasional experiences, not for everyday routine actions: 아침을 먹은 적이 있어요 sounds strange.
- For "never", 한 번도 is commonly added with 없다: 한 번도 가 본 적이 없어요. Particles 은/도 can replace 이: 간 적은 있어요, 본 적도 없어요.
Classic mistake
Wrong: 저는 한국 음식을 만드는 적이 없어요.
Right: 저는 한국 음식을 만든 적이 없어요.
Experience refers to the past, so the verb before 적 must take the past modifier -(으)ㄴ, not the present -는.
Practise -(으)ㄴ 적이 있다/없다 on real TOPIK questions
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All TOPIK grammar- -아/어 보다-아/어 보다 means 'to try doing something' to see what it is like, and in the past tense (-아/어 봤어요) it says you have had that experience.
- -아/어 주다Attach -아/어 주다 to a verb to show that you do the action for someone else, for their benefit.
- -(으)면-(으)면 attaches to a verb or adjective to set a condition: "if X happens or is true, then Y," and it can also mean "whenever X" for things that regularly happen.
- -(으)ㄴ 지Shows how much time has passed since an action happened.
- -(으)ㄹ 것Ends a written instruction or rule with a noun-like command: 'do X; X is to be done'. Impersonal and firm; used in notices, exam instructions, memos and rule lists.
- -(으)ㄹ 때Attaches to a verb or adjective to say at what time or in what situation something happens: 'when …'.
- -(으)면 안 되다States that an action is not allowed or not acceptable: 'you must not… / it's not okay to…'.
- -(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다Attach it to a verb to say that someone can or cannot do something, either because of their ability or because the situation allows or prevents it.
- -(으)ㄹ 줄 알다/모르다Use it to say whether someone knows how to do something, meaning a skill or method they have learned.