Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ cónglái méi chī guò zhè zhǒng suān yòu tián de shuǐguǒ, wèidào hěn tèbié. - I’ve never eaten this kind of sweet-and-sour fruit; the taste is very special.

不 negates habitual, general, or future actions.
- 我不吃肉 – I don’t eat meat (as a habit).
没(有) negates past or completed actions, especially with 过 or 了.
- 我没吃 – I didn’t eat.
- 我没吃过 – I have never eaten (it before).

Here the speaker is talking about past experience up to now, so:

✅ 我从来没吃过
❌ 我从来不吃过 (ungrammatical)

You can say 我从来不吃这种水果, but that means “I never eat this kind of fruit (as a rule)” – a habitual refusal, not “I’ve never had the experience of eating it.”

What does the particle 过 in 吃过 do? How is it different from 了?

过 is an experiential aspect marker. It answers the question:

“Have you ever done X at least once (at some time in the past)?”

So:

我吃过这种水果。
= I have (at some point) eaten this kind of fruit before. (The experience exists.)
我从来没吃过这种水果。
= I have never had that experience.

Contrast that with 了, which focuses on a completed event, often at a more specific time:

我吃了这种水果。
= I ate this kind of fruit. (A particular time/event, not just “I’ve tried it before.”)

Key idea:

过 → whether the experience has ever occurred.
了 → completion of a specific event or change of state.

Could I say 我从来没吃这种水果 without 过? Is it wrong?

It isn’t strictly wrong, but it sounds less natural for the “never in my life / never before” meaning.

我从来没吃这种水果 – can be understood as “I’ve never eaten this kind of fruit,” but it sounds a bit less “experiential.”
我从来没吃过这种水果 – clearly expresses “I have never had the experience of eating this kind of fruit.”

When you want to talk about lifetime experience up to now, native speakers almost always use 没 + V + 过:

我从来没去过中国。– I’ve never been to China.
他没见过这种动物。– He has never seen this kind of animal.

Where does 从来 normally go in the sentence? Can I say 我没从来吃过?

从来 almost always goes directly before the negative:

Pattern: 从来 + 没(有) + V + 过
- 我从来没吃过。
- 我从来没见过。

You cannot say:

❌ 我没从来吃过
❌ 我吃过从来没

Correct position is like in the sentence:

我从来没吃过这种酸又甜的水果
= “I have never eaten this kind of sour-and-sweet fruit.”

What is 种 doing in 这种水果? Is it a measure word or a noun?

In 这种水果, 种 functions as a classifier / measure word meaning “kind, type.”

这 – this
种 – classifier for “kind/type”
水果 – fruit

So 这种水果 = “this kind of fruit.”

Some points:

Without 种: 这水果 is usually “this piece/item of fruit” (if context allows), not “this kind of fruit.”
With 种:
- 一种水果 – one kind of fruit
- 三种水果 – three kinds of fruit
- 这种水果 – this kind of fruit
- 那种水果 – that kind of fruit

种 can also be a stand‑alone noun meaning “kind/type,” but here it’s tightly bound to 水果 as a classifier.

Why is it 酸又甜 and not 又酸又甜? What’s the pattern with 又?

There is a common pattern:

又 A 又 B = “both A and B” (two adjectives)

For example:

又高又帅 – tall and handsome
又酸又甜 – sour and sweet

In your sentence we see:

酸又甜的水果

Here, the first 又 is simply omitted, which is quite natural in speech and informal writing. Both are acceptable:

我从来没吃过又酸又甜的水果。
我从来没吃过酸又甜的水果。

Meaning is essentially the same: the fruit is both sour and sweet.

What is the purpose of 的 in 酸又甜的水果?

的 marks that what comes before it is an attributive phrase (a description) modifying the noun that follows.

Structure:

[adjective / descriptive phrase] + 的 + noun

So:

酸又甜 – sour and sweet (description)
的 – links description to the noun
水果 – fruit

= 酸又甜的水果 – “fruit that is sour and sweet / sour-and-sweet fruit.”

Without 的, 酸又甜水果 is ungrammatical. In general, when you have one or more adjectives before a noun, you usually need 的:

好吃的水果 – tasty fruit
红色的苹果 – red apple
便宜又好用的东西 – cheap and easy-to-use things

What does 味道 mean here exactly? Is it “taste” or “smell”?

味道 can mean:

Taste / flavour – as in food or drink
Smell / scent – sometimes, depending on context

In this sentence, with 水果 (fruit) and 吃 (eat) earlier in the sentence, the natural reading is taste/flavour:

味道很特别。
= “(Its) taste is very special.”

You could also explicitly say:

这种水果的味道很特别。
= “The taste of this kind of fruit is very special.”

Why is 很 used in 味道很特别? The English translation might just be “the taste is special,” not “very special.”

In Chinese, many adjectives behave like stative verbs (they already mean “to be X”), and when they are used as predicates, speakers often insert a degree adverb, even when English wouldn’t say “very.”

Commonly used “neutral” degree word: 很.

味道特别。 – grammatically possible, but sounds like strong emphasis or contrast (“the taste is really / particularly special (as opposed to something else)”).
味道很特别。 – sounds neutral and natural: “the taste is (quite) special.”

So here 很:

Does not always literally mean “very” the way English does.
Often functions as a kind of “link” or “softener” so that the adjective doesn’t sound too abrupt or contrastive.

That’s why textbooks often say “you need 很 (or another adverb like 非常, 真, 特别) before adjectives in simple descriptive sentences.”

Can I drop 很 and just say 味道特别?

You can, but the nuance changes.

味道很特别。
– Neutral description: “The taste is (quite) special.”
味道特别。
– Feels more emphatic or contrastive, like you’re stressing how special it is, or contrasting with expectations:
– “The taste is really special / unusually special.”

In everyday neutral description, native speakers usually include 很 (or another degree adverb) with adjectives:

天气很冷。– The weather is cold.
他很高。– He is tall.
这个地方很安静。– This place is quiet.

If I want to say “I have eaten this kind of sour-and-sweet fruit before; the taste is very special,” how should I change the sentence?

Just remove the negation 没 while keeping 过:

我吃过这种酸又甜的水果，味道很特别。
= I have eaten this kind of sour-and-sweet fruit before; the taste is very special.

Breakdown:

我 – I
吃过 – have eaten (before; experience)
这种酸又甜的水果 – this kind of sour-and-sweet fruit
味道很特别 – (its) taste is very special

Optionally, you could add 以前 (“before / in the past”) for extra clarity:

我以前吃过这种酸又甜的水果，味道很特别。

What’s the difference between saying 这种酸又甜的水果 and 这么酸又甜的水果?

They focus on different things:

这种酸又甜的水果
- 这 = this
- 种 = kind/type
- → “this kind of sour-and-sweet fruit”
  Focus: type/category of fruit.
这么酸又甜的水果
- 这么 = so / this (much)
- → “fruit that is so sour and sweet / fruit that is this sour and sweet”
  Focus: degree of sourness and sweetness, not its type.

So:

我从来没吃过这种酸又甜的水果。
= I’ve never eaten this kind of sour-and-sweet fruit.
我从来没吃过这么酸又甜的水果。
= I’ve never eaten fruit that is this sour and sweet (to such a degree).

Both are natural; they just highlight different aspects.