Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ qù guo nà gè chéngshì sān cì le, měi cì dōu juéde hěn yǒu yìsi. - I’ve been to that city three times, and each time I felt it was very interesting.

过 after 去 in 去过 marks past experience – it tells you that at some point in your life, you have had the experience of going there.
The 了 at the end of the sentence is a sentence-final 了, which often marks a change of situation or emphasizes that something is now the case (here: “by now, the total has reached three times”).

So:

我去过那个城市。 – I have been to that city (at least once at some time in my life).
我去了那个城市。 – I went to that city (a specific event, completed).
我去过那个城市三次了。 – I have been to that city three times now (the experience, counted up to the present).

You can’t just treat 过 and 了 as interchangeable simple “past tense” markers; they express different aspects of the event.

Could I say 我去了那个城市三次 instead of 我去过那个城市三次了? What would be different?

我去了那个城市三次 is grammatical, but the nuance is different:

我去了那个城市三次 focuses more on three completed actions in the past, often understood as specific events in a specific time frame (e.g. last year, during that project, etc.).
我去过那个城市三次了 focuses on your accumulated experience up to now, and 了 emphasizes that the count has reached three by now.

In many everyday contexts, especially when talking about travel experience, 去过…次数…了 sounds more natural and closer to English “I’ve been there three times (so far).”

Why is 三次 placed after 那个城市 instead of before 去过? Could I say 我三次去过那个城市?

Chinese has several common patterns for expressing frequency, and not all are equally natural in every context.

The most natural here is:

我去过那个城市三次了。

This fits the pattern: Subject + Verb + Object + Frequency + 了

You can say 我三次去过那个城市, but it sounds less natural and a bit literary or awkward in everyday speech. It puts more emphasis on 三次 as if you’re highlighting “three times (and that’s noteworthy)”.

For normal spoken Mandarin about visits or experiences, stick with:

我去过那个城市三次了。

What exactly does 过 mean in 去过? Is it like the English present perfect (have been)?

过 after a verb marks past experience – that you have done something at least once before. It doesn’t specify when or how many times (unless you add a number).

In many cases it corresponds quite closely to English “have done / have been”:

我去过北京。 – I have been to Beijing.
你吃过中国菜吗？ – Have you eaten Chinese food (before)?

However, it’s not a tense; Chinese doesn’t have true tense like English. It’s an aspect marker describing the type of action (experienced before) rather than its time relative to now in a grammatical sense.

When you add a number:

我去过那个城市三次了。 – I have been to that city three times (so far).

过 shows that all these are past experiences; 了 emphasizes the current total.

If 过 already shows past experience, why do we need 了 at the end of the sentence?

Here, sentence-final 了 is not just “past tense.” It usually signals:

a change of situation (things are different now), or
the speaker’s emphasis that something is now the case.

In 我去过那个城市三次了, the 了 highlights:

Up to now, the number has reached three.

Without 了:

我去过那个城市三次。 – I have been to that city three times.
(A bit more neutral, can sound like a simple fact.)

With 了:

我去过那个城市三次了。 – I’ve already been to that city three times now.
(Slightly more “so far / already / by now” feeling.)

So 过 = the type of action (experienced before).
了 = the state now (the total is now three).

Why do we need both 那 and 个 in 那个城市? Can I just say 那城市?

In Mandarin, almost all countable nouns need a measure word when modified by a number or a demonstrative (这, 那).

Structure:

这 / 那 + measure word + noun

So:

那个城市 = that (one) city
- 那 – that
- 个 – measure word (general classifier)
- 城市 – city

那城市 is possible, especially in written or literary styles, but in everyday spoken Mandarin it usually sounds incomplete or non‑standard. Native speakers almost always say 那个城市.

You could also use a more specific classifier in some contexts (e.g. 那座城市), but 那个城市 with 个 is the default and very common.

Why is the measure word 个 used before 城市? Is there a more specific measure word?

个 is the most general classifier in Mandarin and is used with a very wide range of nouns. When in doubt, learners often use 个, and they will usually be understood.

For 城市 (city), you might also see:

一座城市 – literally “one ‘seat’ city,” more literary or descriptive.

So you can say:

我去过那座城市三次了。

But in everyday conversation, 那个城市 with 个 is perfectly natural and extremely common. Using 座 adds a slightly more literary or descriptive flavor.

What does 每次都 mean here, and why do we need 都 after 每次?

每次都 literally means “every time all …”, but you can think of it simply as “every time”.

Pattern:

每 + measure word + 都 + Verb / Adj.

Examples:

每个人都知道。 – Everyone knows.
每年都下雪。 – It snows every year.

In 每次都觉得很有意思:

每次 – every time
都 – emphasizes that without exception, all these times share the same result.

So the meaning is: “Every single time, I (without exception) find it very interesting.”

You’ll hear 每…都… all the time in natural Mandarin; it’s the most common way to say “every … (does/is) …”.

Could we omit 都 and just say 每次觉得很有意思? Would the meaning change?

You can say 每次觉得很有意思, and it’s understandable and not wrong, but it sounds a bit less natural.

Adding 都 is the default, more idiomatic pattern:

每次都觉得很有意思。

Without 都, the sentence feels slightly lighter or less emphatic. With 都, you clearly convey that every single time, the feeling is the same. In practice, native speakers almost always say 每…都… in this kind of sentence.

What does 觉得 mean here? Is it like “feel” or “think”?

觉得 means “to feel” or “to think” in the sense of “to have the impression that…” or “to find (something) …”.

In this sentence:

觉得很有意思 = “feel that (it) is very interesting” / “find it very interesting”.

A few examples:

我觉得这本书很好看。 – I think this book is very good / I find this book very good.
你觉得怎么样？ – What do you think? / How do you feel about it?

So 觉得 often corresponds to English “think / feel / find” when expressing opinions or impressions.

Why is 很 used before 有意思? Can we just say 觉得有意思?

Yes, you can say 觉得有意思, and it’s correct. However, 很 is very commonly used before adjectives in Mandarin, including here.

In this sentence:

很有意思 ≈ “very interesting” or sometimes just “interesting” (the 很 is often “light” and doesn’t always mean strongly “very”).

Reasons 很 appears so often:

It often smooths the sentence rhythm.
It helps distinguish “A is B” from A is not B in some basic patterns (e.g. 他很高 vs 他不高).

With and without 很:

觉得有意思 – think it’s interesting (neutral).
觉得很有意思 – think it’s very interesting / quite interesting (more natural and slightly stronger).

In casual speech, 很有意思 is the most idiomatic and frequent version.

What does 有意思 literally mean, and are there other common uses of it?

Literally:

有 – have / there is
意思 – meaning / idea / interest

So 有意思 literally is something like “has meaning” or “has interest,” but in modern usage it usually just means “interesting” or “fun”.

Examples:

这部电影很有意思。 – This movie is very interesting / fun.
他这个人挺有意思的。 – He’s quite an interesting guy.

Be careful: 没意思 usually means “boring / no fun,” not “no meaning” in a deep philosophical sense:

这个节目很没意思。 – This show is really boring.

Why is 了 at the very end, instead of right after 去过 or 三次?

That 了 is sentence-final 了, which is a modal particle, not a verb suffix.

There are two main 了 in Mandarin:

Verb‑suffix 了 – directly after the verb, marks completed action:
- 我去了北京。
Sentence-final 了 – at the end of the sentence, marks a change of state / new situation / emphasis:
- 天气冷了。 – The weather has become cold (it wasn’t before).

In 我去过那个城市三次了, the 了 is attached to the entire situation, not just to 去:

It tells you: “As of now, the total number of visits has become three.”

That’s why it appears at the very end of the sentence.

Could I drop 我 and just say 去过那个城市三次了?

Yes, in many contexts you can omit 我, especially if it’s clear from context that you are talking about yourself.

去过那个城市三次了，每次都觉得很有意思。

This is natural if, for example, you’re already talking about your own travel experiences and it’s obvious who the subject is.

However, if there might be confusion about who did the action, it’s safer to keep 我:

我去过那个城市三次了，每次都觉得很有意思。

Is 城市 the usual word for “city”? How is it different from 城 or 市?

城市 is the standard modern word for “city.”

城 – historically “city wall / walled city,” also appears in place names or compounds (e.g. 长城 – the Great Wall). It’s not usually used alone to mean “city” in everyday speech.
市 – can mean “city” in some contexts (e.g. 北京市, 上海市), but also means “market.” It often appears as part of official place names or in compounds.

So in everyday sentences like “I went to that city,” 城市 is the normal, natural word:

我去过那个城市三次了。 – I have been to that city three times.