Japanese · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 1 of 12
Talking about the past
週末に何をしましたかShūmatsu ni nani o shimashita ka
Say what you did at the weekend in Japanese: the polite past of verbs, nouns and adjectives, and words like yesterday, last week and ago.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Say what you did and didn't do with ～ました (-mashita) and ～ませんでした (-masen deshita)
- Say how something was: 楽しかったです (tanoshikatta desu)
- Ask how something was with どうでしたか (dō deshita ka)
- Say when: yesterday, last week, five years ago
Listen
On Monday morning at an office in Tokyo, colleagues Saito Nao and Endo Hiroshi talk about their weekends. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Endo
おはようございます、斎藤さん。週末はどうでしたか？
Ohayō gozaimasu, Saitō-san. Shūmatsu wa dō deshita ka?
Good morning, Ms Saito. How was your weekend?
Saito
楽しかったです。土曜日に友達と映画を見ました。
Tanoshikatta desu. Doyōbi ni tomodachi to eiga o mimashita.
It was fun. On Saturday I watched a film with a friend.
Endo
いいですね。どんな映画ですか？
Ii desu ne. Donna eiga desu ka?
Nice. What kind of film?
Saito
日本のアニメです。それから、渋谷で買い物をしました。
Nihon no anime desu. Sorekara, Shibuya de kaimono o shimashita.
A Japanese anime. And then I went shopping in Shibuya.
Endo
日曜日は何をしましたか？
Nichiyōbi wa nani o shimashita ka?
What did you do on Sunday?
Saito
家でゆっくりしました。先週はちょっと疲れました。遠藤さんは？
Ie de yukkuri shimashita. Senshū wa chotto tsukaremashita. Endō-san wa?
I relaxed at home. Last week was a bit tiring. And you, Mr Endo?
Endo
家族と京都へ行きました。
Kazoku to Kyōto e ikimashita.
I went to Kyoto with my family.
Saito
京都ですか。初めてでしたか？
Kyōto desu ka. Hajimete deshita ka?
Kyoto? Was it your first time?
Endo
いいえ、五年前にも行きました。
Iie, gonen mae ni mo ikimashita.
No, I also went five years ago.
Saito
天気はどうでしたか？
Tenki wa dō deshita ka?
How was the weather?
Endo
土曜日はあまりよくなかったですが、日曜日はよかったです。
Doyōbi wa amari yokunakatta desu ga, nichiyōbi wa yokatta desu.
Saturday wasn't very good, but Sunday was nice.
Saito
よかったですね。私も来週、京都へ行きます。
Yokatta desu ne. Watashi mo raishū, Kyōto e ikimasu.
That's good. I'm going to Kyoto next week too.
Understand
Did and didn't: ～ました and ～ませんでした
You know the ます form from A1: (mimasu), I watch or I will watch. For the past, change -masu to -mashita: (mimashita), I watched. For “didn't”, add deshita to the negative: (mimasen deshita), I didn't watch.
This works the same for every verb, with no exceptions. The verb doesn't change for the person either, so (ikimashita) can mean “I went”, “she went” or “we went”; the situation tells you who.
| Meaning | Now / future | Negative | Past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| watch, see | (mimasu) | (mimasen) | (mimashita) | (mimasen deshita) |
| go | (ikimasu) | (ikimasen) | (ikimashita) | (ikimasen deshita) |
| eat | (tabemasu) | (tabemasen) | (tabemashita) | (tabemasen deshita) |
| do | (shimasu) | (shimasen) | (shimashita) | (shimasen deshita) |
| come | (kimasu) | (kimasen) | (kimashita) | (kimasen deshita) |
Was: でした and the past of adjectives
With nouns and な-adjectives, (desu) becomes (deshita): (kinō wa yasumi deshita), yesterday was my day off. “Wasn't” is (ja nakatta desu); you'll also hear (ja arimasen deshita).
い-adjectives change themselves instead. Drop the final -i and add -katta desu: (tanoshii) becomes (tanoshikatta desu), it was fun. For “wasn't”, use -kunakatta desu: (tanoshikunakatta desu). (ii, good) uses the old stem yo-: (yokatta desu). Never put (deshita) after an い-adjective.
To ask how something was, say (dō deshita ka), how was it?
| Word | Is | Isn't | Was | Wasn't |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| noun: (yasumi), day off | (yasumi desu) | (yasumi ja nai desu) | (yasumi deshita) | (yasumi ja nakatta desu) |
| な-adjective: (kirei), beautiful | (kirei desu) | (kirei ja nai desu) | (kirei deshita) | (kirei ja nakatta desu) |
| い-adjective: (tanoshii), fun | (tanoshii desu) | (tanoshikunai desu) | (tanoshikatta desu) | (tanoshikunakatta desu) |
| (ii), good | (ii desu) | (yokunai desu) | (yokatta desu) | (yokunakatta desu) |
When, and who with
Days and clock times take (ni): (doyōbi ni), on Saturday. Words that count from today don't: (kinō), yesterday; (senshū), last week; (sengetsu), last month. (shūmatsu), the weekend, works with or without .
For “ago”, put (mae ni) after the length of time: (futsuka mae ni), two days ago; (gonen mae ni), five years ago. After a person, (to) means “with”: (tomodachi to), with a friend. (sorekara), and then, joins two things you did.
- 昨日、友達と映画を見ました。Kinō, tomodachi to eiga o mimashita.Yesterday I watched a film with a friend.
- 二日前に京都へ行きました。Futsuka mae ni Kyōto e ikimashita.I went to Kyoto two days ago.
- 土曜日に買い物をしました。それから、家でゆっくりしました。Doyōbi ni kaimono o shimashita. Sorekara, ie de yukkuri shimashita.On Saturday I went shopping. Then I relaxed at home.
More in the grammar: The ます form · い-adjectives and な-adjectives · です and basic sentences · The past tense
New words
- 週末shūmatsuweekend · しゅうまつ
- どうでしたか？Dō deshita ka?How was it? · the past of (dō desu ka)
- 楽しかったtanoshikattawas fun · たのしかった; past of (tanoshii), fun
- 友達tomodachifriend · ともだち
- 映画eigafilm, movie · えいが
- 見ましたmimashitawatched, saw · みました; past of (mimasu)
- それからsorekaraand then, after that
- 買い物kaimonoshopping · かいもの; (kaimono o shimasu), go shopping
- 家でie deat home · いえで; also read (uchi de)
- ゆっくりyukkurislowly, at ease · (yukkuri shimasu), to relax, take it easy
- 先週senshūlast week · せんしゅう; (sengetsu), last month
- 疲れましたtsukaremashitagot tired; I'm tired · つかれました; Japanese uses the past for “I'm tired” now.
- ～前に… mae ni… ago · まえに; after a length of time: (gonen mae ni), five years ago
- 天気tenkiweather · てんき
Practise
1.Ms Saito wants to say “I watched a film.” Which sentence is correct?
2.Mr Endo says the weather on Saturday wasn't very good. Which ending is right? (doyōbi wa amari) …
3.Put the words in order: say what you did on Saturday.
Tap the words below in the right order.On Saturday I watched a film with a friend.
4.Match the Japanese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
5.Which sentence is correct?
6.Put the words in order: ask how the weekend was.
Tap the words below in the right order.How was your weekend?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
週末はどうでしたか？
Shūmatsu wa dō deshita ka?
How was your weekend?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.