Learn Hardcore Chinese: nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?

It marks experiential aspect: having the experience of doing something at least once before now. In 你去过北京吗？, it asks “Have you ever been to Beijing?” Form: Subject + Verb + 过 + Object + 吗.

How is this different from using 了?

过 = life experience, not tied to a specific occasion. Example: 你去过北京吗？ “Have you ever been to Beijing?”
了 (event completion) = a specific, bounded event. Example: 你去北京了吗？ “Did you go to Beijing (as planned/already)?” They answer different questions: general experience vs a particular trip.

What does 吗 do here?

吗 turns the statement into a yes–no question and always goes at the end: …吗？ It does not appear with question words like 谁, 什么, 哪儿. Without 吗, you’d need a different question pattern or rely on intonation.

How do I answer this question naturally?

Yes: 去过。/ 我去过北京。/ 去过一次。
No: 没（有）去过。/ 我从来没去过北京。 Chinese often repeats the verb phrase rather than saying just “yes/no.”

What’s the correct way to negate 过?

Use 没（有） before the verb: 我没（有）去过北京。 Do not use 不: ✗ 我不去过北京 is ungrammatical.

Are there other ways to ask the same yes–no question?

Yes, common equivalents:

你去没去过北京？ (A-not-A pattern)
你有没有去过北京？
你去过北京没有？ (colloquial) All mean “Have you (ever) been to Beijing?”

Where does 过 go? Can I say 你去北京过吗?

Put 过 immediately after the verb: 去过北京. Do not split the verb and place: ✗ 去北京过 is wrong. More examples: 看过那部电影, 吃过北京烤鸭.

Can I drop 你 or drop 吗 in conversation?

Dropping the subject when clear is fine: 去过北京吗？
Dropping 吗 and using rising intonation is colloquial: 你去过北京？ (sounds casual/confirming). For neutral correctness, keep 吗.

How do I pronounce this? Any tone tips?

你 nǐ (3rd tone) is pronounced as a “half-third” (low) before non–third tones.
去 qù (4th), 过 as the aspect particle is usually neutral tone (light “guo”); the full 4th tone guò is for the verb “to pass.”
北京 Běijīng = 3rd + 1st.
吗 is neutral tone. Full reading: nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?

If I’m in Beijing right now, should I use 来 instead of 去?

Yes. Use direction toward the speaker:

If you are in Beijing: 你来过北京吗？ (“Have you ever come to Beijing [here]?”)
If you are not in Beijing: 你去过北京吗？

Can I use 到过 instead of 去过?

到过 is grammatical and emphasizes “arrived at,” often sounding a bit more formal/literary: 你到过北京吗？ In everyday speech, 去过 is more common.

Can I add time words with 过?

Works well with vague/indefinite time: 我以前/小时候/曾经去过北京。
With specific times (e.g., “last year”), 了 is usually more natural: 我去年去了北京。 You may see 去年我去过北京, which is possible but less neutral in basic learner style.

What does 你去北京吗？ mean, and why is it different?

你去北京吗？ asks about a present/future plan (“Are you going to Beijing?”). It does not ask about past experience. To ask about experience, you need 过.

How do I ask “How many times have you been?”

Most common: 你去过北京几次？
Also possible: 你去过几次北京？ Answers: 去过两次/三次; or 我去过北京两次。

Do I need a measure word with 北京? Can I say 去到北京 or 去在北京?

Proper nouns like 北京 don’t take a measure word after 去.
Say 去北京, not ✗ 去在北京.
去到北京 exists regionally to stress “go and arrive,” but standard everyday Mandarin usually just says 去北京.

Is there a polite version?

Yes, use 您: 您去过北京吗？ This is polite/respectful, often to elders or customers.

Can 过 and 了 appear together?

They can co-occur when 了 is sentence-final (a change-of-state/new information marker): 我去过北京了 (“I’ve already had the experience now”). In questions, patterns like 你吃过饭了吗？ are very common. 你去过北京了吗？ is possible if you mean “Have you had that experience already (by now)?”, but the plain 你去过北京吗？ is the neutral way to ask about life experience.

How do I say “Have you lived/stayed in Beijing?” instead of just “been to”?

Use a verb that matches the meaning:

Lived: 你在北京住过吗？
Stayed/spent time: 你在北京待过吗？ These imply a period of time there, not just a visit.

Can I omit spaces in Chinese, and which question mark should I use?

Modern Chinese doesn’t use spaces between words: 你去过北京吗？ Use the full-width Chinese question mark ？ in Chinese text (though a western “?” is commonly understood in informal typing).