Never seen a panda with 見たことない
Grammar Explanation: Previous experience with 〜た＋ことがある
Chiyo shows her friends in class the panda picture book she bought.
- 歩:
- 「私 パンダてまだ見たことないねん」
- “I haven't seen a panda yet.”
- とも:
- 「私 見たことあるよ ありゃかわいーよー」
- “I've seen one. They're cute!”
Key Points
1見たことない and 見たことある give opposite answers
- Ayumu’s 見たことない says that she has never seen a panda. Tomo answers with the affirmative 見たことある, “I’ve seen one.”
- Both speakers omit が from the fuller forms 見たことがない and 見たことがある.
2まだ with a negative means “not yet”
- With a negative, まだ covers the period up to now. Ayumu has not seen a panda yet, though she may later.
3ねん gives Ayumu’s line a Kansai ending
- 見たことないねん roughly corresponds to standard Japanese 見たことないんだ.
- Here ねん makes the line explanatory and a little insistent as Ayumu tells the others about herself.
4ありゃ contracts あれは
- ありゃ points back to the panda. The uncontracted phrase is あれは, “as for that.”
- かわいー is a stretched, conversational pronunciation of かわいい.
Vocabulary
見る (To see)
見る means to see or look at something. It can also mean to examine its condition or nature.
See Also
- Future entry: Past tense with 〜た・〜だ
- Future entry: Grammar in the Kansai dialect
- Future entry: Informing with よ
- Grammar: Marking the topic with は and も
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