Japanese verb · ru-verb · first needed at beginner level (A1)
食べる
taberu
to eat
A regular ru-verb: drop る and add the ending (, tabemasu; , tabenai; , tabete). Its potential and passive are both (taberareru).
Present
現在形
Now, habits and the future. The plain form is for friends and family; polite ～ます is the default.
| plain | 食べるtaberu | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 食べますtabemasu | |
| plain negative | 食べないtabenai | |
| polite negative | 食べませんtabemasen |
Past
過去形
What happened, or what has happened. The plain form is for friends and family; polite ～ました is the default.
| plain | 食べたtabeta | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 食べましたtabemashita | |
| plain negative | 食べなかったtabenakatta | |
| polite negative | 食べませんでしたtabemasen deshita |
Te-form
て形
Joins actions (“and then”) and builds ～ています (doing now), ～てください (please do) and ～てもいいですか (may I).
| te-form | 食べてtabete | |
|---|---|---|
| -te imasu (doing now) | 食べていますtabete imasu | |
| -te kudasai (please do) | 食べてくださいtabete kudasai | |
| -te mo ii desu ka (may I) | 食べてもいいですかtabete mo ii desu ka |
Volitional
意向形
Let's: the plain form between friends, ～ましょう in polite speech. ～ましょうか suggests (shall we?) or offers help (shall I?).
| plain (let's) | 食べようtabeyō | |
|---|---|---|
| polite (let's) | 食べましょうtabemashō | |
| polite (shall we?) | 食べましょうかtabemashō ka |
Potential
可能形
Can eat. The object usually takes (ga) instead of (o). Casual speech often drops the ら: (tabereru).
| plain | 食べられるtaberareru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 食べられますtaberaremasu | |
| plain negative | 食べられないtaberarenai | |
| polite negative | 食べられませんtaberaremasen |
Passive
受身形
Being eaten, often as the “suffering” passive: (neko ni sakana o taberareta), the cat ate my fish. Same form as the potential.
| plain | 食べられるtaberareru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 食べられますtaberaremasu | |
| plain negative | 食べられないtaberarenai | |
| polite negative | 食べられませんtaberaremasen |
Causative
使役形
Making or letting someone eat; also “to feed”: (kodomo ni gohan o tabesaseru), to feed the children.
| plain | 食べさせるtabesaseru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 食べさせますtabesasemasu | |
| plain negative | 食べさせないtabesasenai | |
| polite negative | 食べさせませんtabesasemasen |
Conditional
条件形
If: ～ば for general conditions, ～たら for “if” and “when, once”, ～なければ for “if not”.
| -ba | 食べればtabereba | |
|---|---|---|
| -tara | 食べたらtabetara | |
| -nakereba (if not) | 食べなければtabenakereba |
Examples
- 朝ご飯を食べましたか。Asagohan o tabemashita ka.Have you had breakfast?
- 私は肉を食べません。Watashi wa niku o tabemasen.I don't eat meat.
- 納豆が食べられますか。Nattō ga taberaremasu ka.Can you eat natto?