Introduction to Past Tense
The past tense in Japanese is used to describe actions or states that have already happened or were true in the past. Unlike English, Japanese verbs conjugate to express past tense rather than using auxiliary verbs like "did" or "was."
In Japanese, the past tense is formed primarily by changing the verb ending. There are two main verb groups (ru-verbs and u-verbs) and a few irregular verbs, each with their own conjugation patterns.
้ฃในใ
tabeta
ate (past tense of "eat")
่กใฃใ
itta
went (past tense of "go")
Past Tense of Ru-Verbs
Ru-verbs (also called ichidan verbs) end with ใใ in their dictionary form. To form the past tense, simply replace ใ with ใ.
| Dictionary Form | Past Tense |
|---|---|
| ้ฃในใ (taberu) | ้ฃในใ (tabeta) |
| ่ฆใ (miru) | ่ฆใ (mita) |
ๆ ็ปใ่ฆใใ
Eiga o mita.
I watched a movie.
ใ้ฃฏใ้ฃในใใ
Gohan o tabeta.
I ate a meal.
Past Tense of U-Verbs
U-verbs (godan verbs) end with a variety of ใใใใใใใใใใใใใใคใใใฌใใใถใใใใใใ. Their past tense conjugation depends on the final syllable of the verb stem. The ending changes to either ใฃใ, ใใ, or ใใ .
| Verb Ending | Past Tense Ending | Example | Past Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| ใใใคใใ | ใฃใ | ่ฒทใ (kau) | ่ฒทใฃใ (katta) |
| ใใใถใใฌ | ใใ | ่ชญใ (yomu) | ่ชญใใ (yonda) |
| ใ | ใใ | ๆธใ (kaku) | ๆธใใ (kaita) |
| ใ | ใใ | ๆณณใ (oyogu) | ๆณณใใ (oyoida) |
| ใ | ใใ | ่ฉฑใ (hanasu) | ่ฉฑใใ (hanashita) |
ๆ็ดใๆธใใใ
Tegami o kaita.
I wrote a letter.
ๅ้ใจ่ฉฑใใใ
Tomodachi to hanashita.
I talked with a friend.
ๅทใงๆณณใใ ใ
Kawa de oyoida.
I swam in the river.
Past Tense of Irregular Verbs
There are two main irregular verbs in Japanese: ใใ (to do) and ๆฅใ (ใใ, to come). Their past tense forms are unique and must be memorized.
| Verb | Past Tense |
|---|---|
| ใใ (suru) | ใใ (shita) |
| ๆฅใ (ใใ, kuru) | ๆฅใ (ใใ, kita) |
ๅฎฟ้กใใใใ
Shukudai o shita.
I did my homework.
ๅฝผใฏๅญฆๆ กใซๆฅใใ
Kare wa gakkou ni kita.
He came to school.
Negative Past Tense
To form the negative past tense, first conjugate the verb into its negative present form, then change ใชใ to ใชใใฃใ. This applies to all verb groups.
For example, ้ฃในใ (to eat) becomes ้ฃในใชใ in the negative present, and ้ฃในใชใใฃใ in the negative past.
ๆจๆฅใฏใ้ฃฏใ้ฃในใชใใฃใใ
Kinou wa gohan o tabenakatta.
I did not eat rice yesterday.
ๆ ็ปใ่ฆใชใใฃใใ
Eiga o minakatta.
I did not watch the movie.
Polite Past Tense
To make the past tense polite, use the ใใพใใ ending, which comes from adding ใใพใ to the past tense stem.
For ru-verbs and u-verbs, conjugate to the ใใพใ stem, then add ใพใใ.
| Dictionary Form | Polite Past |
|---|---|
| ้ฃในใ (taberu) | ้ฃในใพใใ (tabemashita) |
| ่กใ (iku) | ่กใใพใใ (ikimashita) |
ๆจๆฅใๅ้ใจ่ฉฑใใพใใใ
Kinou, tomodachi to hanashimashita.
I talked with my friend yesterday.
ๆใ้ฃฏใ้ฃในใพใใใ
Asagohan o tabemashita.
I ate breakfast.
Practice Examples
Try to identify the verb type and conjugate the verbs into past tense in these sentences:
ๆจๆฅใๅณๆธ้คจใงๆฌใ่ชญใใ ใ
Kinou, toshokan de hon o yonda.
I read a book at the library yesterday.
ๅฝผๅฅณใฏๆ็ดใๆธใใใ
Kanojo wa tegami o kaita.
She wrote a letter.
่ฉฆ้จใใใชใใฃใใ
Shiken o shinakatta.
I did not take the exam.
็ถใฏไผ็คพใซๆฅใใ
Chichi wa kaisha ni kita.
My father came to the office.
Tips for Remembering Rules
1. Remember that ru-verbs are the easiest to conjugate: just replace ใ with ใ for past tense.
2. For u-verbs, focus on the last syllable of the dictionary form to decide the correct past tense ending (ใฃใ, ใใ, ใใ , etc.).
3. The irregular verbs ใใ and ๆฅใ are very common, so memorize their past forms (ใใ and ๆฅใ).
4. Negative past tense always ends with ใชใใฃใ. Just change ใชใ to ใชใใฃใ after making the verb negative.
5. Practice with polite forms by using ใพใใ endings, which are consistent across all verbs.
6. Listening and reading real Japanese examples will help internalize these patterns quickly.