Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ méi kàn guo zhè běn xiǎoshuō.

没 / 没有 is used to negate:
- past actions: 我没去 = I didn’t go.
- completed events / experiences: 我没看过 = I have not (ever) read.
不 is used for:
- general facts/habits: 我不喝酒 = I don’t drink alcohol (as a rule).
- future / planned refusal: 我明天不去 = I’m not going tomorrow.

So:

我没看过这本小说 = I have never read this novel (before).
我不看这本小说 would mean I don’t read / won’t read this novel (sounds like “I refuse / I don’t want to read this novel,” or “this novel is not the one I read”).

What exactly does 过 do here? How is 没看过 different from just 没看?

过 is an aspect particle that marks past experience: having done something at least once before.

看过 ≈ have (ever) read / have (ever) seen
没看过 ≈ have never read / have never seen (in my life / so far)

Difference:

我没看这本小说
- Usually means: I didn’t read this novel (on that occasion / that time / just now).
- Focuses on a specific time or situation.
我没看过这本小说
- Means: I have never read this novel before (in my life / up to now).
- Focuses on life experience up to now.

So 过 turns the verb into “(ever) done before,” and 没 negates that experience.

Could we say 没有看过 instead of 没看过? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say 我没有看过这本小说.

没看过 and 没有看过 are both correct.
没有 is the full form; 没 is a shorter, more colloquial form.

In everyday speech:

People very often use 没: 我没看过
没有 can sound a bit more formal, careful, or emphatic in some contexts, but in this sentence they’re essentially the same.

Why is 看 used for reading a novel? Shouldn’t “to read” be 读?

Both 看 and 读 can be used with written material, but they’re not always interchangeable.

看 literally means “to look,” and by extension “to read” (visually). It’s very common in casual speech for:
- 看书 = read books
- 看小说 = read novels
- 看报纸 = read newspapers
读 focuses more on the act of reading as a formal activity (or “to study”):
- 读书 = to read books / to study
- 读小说 is possible, but sounds more formal/literary; in everyday speech people usually say 看小说.

So 我没看过这本小说 is the natural, conversational way to say “I’ve never read this novel.”

What is the role of 本 in 这本小说? Why not just 这小说?

本 is a measure word (classifier) used for books and similar bound volumes.

Structure:

这 + 本 + 小说 = this + (classifier for book) + novel

In standard Mandarin, you must include a measure word between a demonstrative (这, 那) and a noun in most cases:

✅ 这本小说
✅ 那本书
❌ 这小说 (sounds dialectal or non-standard; avoid as a learner)

本 is the default classifier for books (including novels, textbooks, etc.). So 这本小说 literally means “this (volume of) novel.”

Could we use 个 instead of 本, like 这个小说?

In standard Mandarin, for 书 / 小说 (books/novels), the natural measure word is 本, not 个.

✅ 这本小说 (correct, natural)
❌ 这个小说 (not natural in standard speech; sounds like learner Chinese or some dialects)

Chinese has many specific measure words; 本 is tightly associated with books. Use 本 for novels.

What is the difference between 我没看过这本小说 and 我看过这本小说?

They’re opposites in terms of experience:

我没看过这本小说
- I have never read this novel (before).
- Emphasizes: this experience has not happened at any point up to now.
我看过这本小说
- I have read this novel (before). / I’ve read this novel.
- Emphasizes: at some time in the past, this experience has occurred at least once.

Both use 过 to talk about life experience, but one is negated with 没, one isn’t.

How is 我看过这本小说 different from 我看了这本小说?

They both involve the past but have different focuses:

我看过这本小说
- Aspect: experiential (marked by 过)
- Meaning: I have (at some time) read this novel.
- Does not focus on completion on a specific occasion; it just says this has happened at least once.
我看了这本小说
- Aspect: completion (marked by 了)
- Meaning: I (did) read this novel / I finished reading this novel (in some context / time frame).
- Usually refers to a specific event: maybe yesterday, last week, etc.

So:

过: “have ever done (at some point before)”
了: “did it / it was completed (that time)”

Can 过 and 了 appear together with 看 in this kind of sentence?

Yes, but not in the simple form 看过了这本小说 by itself as a basic pattern. Instead, 过 and 了 have different roles and can co-occur in a slightly different structure:

我已经看过这本小说了。
- 看过: experiential aspect (have read before)
- Sentence-final 了: often adds a sense of change of state / “now it’s the case that …” or soft emphasis.
- Overall: I’ve already read this novel (you know / so I don’t need to read it again).

So:

✔ 我已经看过这本小说了。
✔ 我看过这本小说。
✔ 我看了这本小说。
✖ 我看过了这本小说。 (possible but quite marked/rare; usually not taught to learners)

For normal use, remember:

use 过 or 了, and in some sentences you may see 过 + sentence-final 了.

Could the subject 我 be dropped in this sentence?

Yes, in the right context, you could say just:

没看过这本小说。

Chinese often drops pronouns when they’re clear from context. For example:

A: 你看过这本小说吗？
B: 没看过。

But if it’s the first time you mention it, or there could be ambiguity about who you’re talking about, you should keep 我:

我没看过这本小说。 = I’ve never read this novel.

What is the difference between 小说 and 书 here? Could I say 这本书 instead of 这本小说?

小说 = novel (fictional narrative)
书 = book (very general)

You can say 这本书, but then you lose the specific meaning “novel”:

这本小说 = this novel (we know it’s a novel, not a textbook, dictionary, etc.)
这本书 = this book (could be any kind of book)

In many real conversations, people might switch to 这本书 if the context is already clear that it’s a novel, but 这本小说 is more precise.

What is the natural way to ask “Have you read this novel?”

Use the same 过 pattern in a question:

你看过这本小说吗？
- Literally: You have-ever-read this novel (question)?
- Natural translation: Have you read this novel (before)?

Answer patterns:

看过。 / 我看过。 = Yes, I have (read it).
没看过。 / 我没看过。 = No, I haven’t (read it).

Does 我没看过这本小说 say anything about whether I will read it in the future?

No. It only talks about your past experience up to now.

我没看过这本小说 = I have never read this novel (so far / in my life up to now).

It does not imply:

“I refuse to read it,”
“I will not read it,” or
“I don’t want to read it.”

To express refusal or unwillingness, you would use 不 and often add something like 想 / 要:

我不想看这本小说。 = I don’t want to read this novel.
我不要看这本小说。 = I don’t want to read this novel (stronger / more emotional).

Are there any pronunciation or tone changes in this sentence I should pay attention to?

Yes, mainly tone sandhi with the third tone:

The pinyin with tones is:

我 wǒ (3rd)
没 méi (2nd)
看 kàn (4th)
过 guo (neutral here; written guo, often without tone mark when it’s the aspect particle)
这 zhè (4th)
本 běn (3rd)
小说 xiǎoshuō (3rd + 1st)

Key points:

Third-tone sandhi
- When one third tone is followed by another, the first one becomes a second tone.
- In this sentence, 本 (běn, 3rd) is followed by 小 (xiǎo, 3rd). So 本 is pronounced like a rising second tone: bén xiǎoshuō.
Neutral tone on 过
- As an aspect particle, 过 is usually read with a neutral tone.
- So 看过 is pronounced kàn guo (kàn = 4th tone, guo = neutral).

Put together smoothly, it should sound like:
wǒ méi kàn guo zhè bén xiǎoshuō (with 本 softened towards a rising tone).