Have met with 〜た＋ことがある

Grammar Explanation: Previous experience with 〜た＋ことがある

Akari and President Aria walk with Alicia to her meeting location. Rather than head back home, Akari and President Aria decide to sit at the café across the street until the meeting is over. There, Akari notices a gentleman sitting at another table.

灯里(あかり):: 「あのおじさんどこかで会(あ)ったことがあるような？」; “It feels like I have met that man somewhere before.”; Literal: “It seems like I have a thing where I met that man somewhere.”

Key Points

1〜たことがある marks prior experience

会(あ)ったことがある means “have had the experience of meeting”.
With 会(あ)う, it becomes “I have met him before.”

2どこかで keeps the memory vague

どこかで means “somewhere”, which shows Akari cannot place the exact location.

3ような softens it into a feeling

Ending with ような？ makes the line sound like “it seems like…” or “I feel like…”

Vocabulary

あの (That): あの comes before a noun to mean “that” or “those”. It points to someone or something away from both speakers, or something they both know about.
会う (To meet): 会(あ)う means to meet or see someone in person.

Have met with 〜た＋ことがある

Key Points

Vocabulary

あの (That)

会う (To meet)

See Also