MANDARIN SENTENCE PATTERN
Experience with 过
Talk about having done something before.
Subject + verb + 过 (guo) + object
过 after a verb marks a past experience, often relevant to whether you have ever done something. It does not locate the event at a specific time on its own.
To say you have not had the experience, use 没(有) before the verb while retaining 过.
Examples
我去过北京。
I have been to Beijing.
你吃过这个菜吗？
Have you tried this dish?
我没去过上海。
I have not been to Shanghai.
Keep in mind
过 focuses on experience; 了 and 过 are not freely interchangeable.