Japanese grammar · Elementary (A2)
The past tense
The polite and plain past of verbs, adjectives and nouns, and the time words that go with the past.
Polite past: ～ました and ～ませんでした
For the polite past of a verb, change ます to ました (-mashita), and for the negative, ません to ませんでした (-masen deshita): (mimasu, I watch) → (mimashita, I watched) → (mimasen deshita, I didn't watch). The verb group doesn't matter here.
The Japanese past covers both the English past and the present perfect: (Nihon ni kimashita) is “I came to Japan” or “I have come to Japan”. The i of -mashita is often barely heard: “mash'ta”.
- 昨日、友達と映画を見ました。Kinō, tomodachi to eiga o mimashita.I saw a film with a friend yesterday.
- 週末はどこにも行きませんでした。Shūmatsu wa doko ni mo ikimasen deshita.I didn't go anywhere at the weekend.
- 先週、京都に行きました。Senshū, Kyōto ni ikimashita.I went to Kyoto last week.
Adjectives and nouns in the past
い-adjectives have their own past: drop い and add かったです (-katta desu). Never put after an い-adjective: “it was fun” is (tanoshikatta desu), not 楽しいでした. (ii, good) becomes (yokatta desu).
な-adjectives and nouns use the past of : (deshita) and (ja nakatta desu). (dō deshita ka, how was it?) is the question you'll hear after every weekend and every trip.
| Type | Present | Past | Past negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| い-adjective | (tanoshii desu) | (tanoshikatta desu) | (tanoshikunakatta desu) |
| (ii) | (ii desu) | (yokatta desu) | (yokunakatta desu) |
| な-adjective | (shizuka desu) | (shizuka deshita) | (shizuka ja nakatta desu) |
| noun | (ame desu) | (ame deshita) | (ame ja nakatta desu) |
- 旅行はどうでしたか。Ryokō wa dō deshita ka.How was your trip?
- とても楽しかったです。Totemo tanoshikatta desu.It was a lot of fun.
- 天気はあまりよくなかったです。Tenki wa amari yokunakatta desu.The weather wasn't very good.
The plain past: the `た`-form
The plain past, or た-form, is used with friends and family, and inside longer sentences even when you speak politely: (Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasu, I've been to Japan). It is made exactly like the te-form, with た instead of て and だ instead of で: (tabete) → (tabeta), (nonde) → (nonda).
For the plain past negative, take the plain negative in ない and change it to なかった: (tabenai) → (tabenakatta). Adjectives drop : (tanoshikatta). な-adjectives and nouns use (datta) and (ja nakatta).
| Dictionary form | Plain past | Plain past negative |
|---|---|---|
| (taberu, eat) | (tabeta) | (tabenakatta) |
| (miru, see) | (mita) | (minakatta) |
| (kaku, write) | (kaita) | (kakanakatta) |
| (oyogu, swim) | (oyoida) | (oyoganakatta) |
| (nomu, drink) | (nonda) | (nomanakatta) |
| (asobu, play) | (asonda) | (asobanakatta) |
| (kau, buy) | (katta) | (kawanakatta) |
| (matsu, wait) | (matta) | (matanakatta) |
| (kaeru, go home) | (kaetta) | (kaeranakatta) |
| (hanasu, speak) | (hanashita) | (hanasanakatta) |
| (iku, go) | (itta) | (ikanakatta) |
| (suru, do) | (shita) | (shinakatta) |
| (kuru, come) | (kita) | (konakatta) |
| (aru, there is) | (atta) | (nakatta) |
- 昨日、何した？Kinō, nani shita?What did you do yesterday?
- 映画を見た。おもしろかったよ。Eiga o mita. Omoshirokatta yo.I saw a film. It was good.
- 子供の時は静かだった。Kodomo no toki wa shizuka datta.I was quiet as a child.
Time words for the past
Words that count back from today, such as (kinō, yesterday) and (senshū, last week), don't take (ni). Dates, days and clock times do: (sangatsu ni, in March), (nichiyōbi ni, on Sunday).
For “… ago”, add (mae ni) to a length of time: (mikka mae ni, three days ago), (ninen mae ni, two years ago).
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (kinō) | yesterday |
| (ototoi) | the day before yesterday |
| (senshū) | last week |
| (sengetsu) | last month |
| (kyonen) | last year |
| (kono mae) | the other day, last time |
| (sakki) | a moment ago |
| (mukashi) | long ago, in the old days |
- 二年前に日本に来ました。Ninen mae ni Nihon ni kimashita.I came to Japan two years ago.
- さっき駅で田中さんに会いました。Sakki eki de Tanaka-san ni aimashita.I ran into Tanaka at the station a moment ago.
- 去年、初めて富士山に登りました。Kyonen, hajimete Fujisan ni noborimashita.Last year I climbed Mount Fuji for the first time.
Already and not yet: もう and まだ
(mō) with the past means “already”: (mō yoyaku shimashita ka, have you booked yet?). The answer “not yet” is not the past negative. Say (iie, mada desu, no, not yet) or use (mada) with ～ていません (-te imasen): (mada kimete imasen, I haven't decided yet).
～ませんでした means that something didn't happen at a finished time in the past: (kinō wa nani mo tabemasen deshita, I didn't eat anything yesterday).
- もう予約しましたか。Mō yoyaku shimashita ka.Have you booked yet?
- いいえ、まだです。Iie, mada desu.No, not yet.
- まだ決めていません。Mada kimete imasen.I haven't decided yet.