Experiences etc.
Using the construction "Have you ever ~?"
The rule is: Sentence ending in plain form of verb + "koto (ga) arimasu ka?"
The afffirmative answer is generally "Hai, arimasu" but there are many different ways to respond depending on the tense etc.
The negative answer is generally "Iya, arimasen."
Some examples:
Q. Have you ever seen the movie "Scarface?"
Sukaa-feisu to iu eiga o mita koto (ga) arimasu ka?
Yes, I have. Hai, arimasu.
はい、あります。
No, I haven't. Iya, arimasen.
いや、ありません。
Variations:
Yes, I've seen it. Hai, mita ● mimashita.
No, I haven't seen it. Iya, mite-nai ● mite-masen.
Note that the affirmative responses use the plain past, but the negative responses use the past progressive, which is the closest to the English perfect tense that there is in Japanese. So strangely, if you answered in the affirmative: "Hai, mite-ta ● mite-mashita," this would translate as the English "Yes, I was watching it," NOT "Yes I have seen it."
Again, strangely, the negative "Iya, mite-nai ● mite-masen" does NOT translate as "No, I wasn't watching it" but "No, I haven't seen it."
Also notice that when you get more confident in your use of "wa" and "ga," you will see that the Japanese themselves frequently just omit these particles from daily conversation, along with the particle "o" (actually it should be spelled "wo" since this is the way you enter it on the keyboard to produce the particle "を.")
Note that with other particles, including "ni," "de" or "e" (spelled as "he": へ）these cannot be omitted.
Other examples:
Q. Have you ever heard of an actor named Mel Gibson?
Meru gibbuson to iu haiyū o kiita koto ga arimasu ka?
Yes, I've heard of him. Hai, kiita koto aru ● arimashita.
No, I've never heard of him. Iya, kiita koto nai ● arimasen.
Note that since the actor, Mel Gibson, is not considered to be an ongoing activity, in the negative answer the simple past tense is used and not the past progressive.
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