Learn Japanese Online - Free Studies - Present and Past Plain Form

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Present and Past Plain Form

The plain form of verbs are used with immediate family and close friends and associates. The polite forms are more appropriate for general use. However, the plain forms function in various ways in a sentence other than as the main verb and so must be learned. The plain form of the present tense is the dictionary form. For the negative add -nai to the stem for v-stem verbs, and -anai for c-stem verbs except for those verbs ending in -au, -iu, -uu and -ou where -wanai is added. The plain negatives of kuru and suru are konai and shinai, respectively. Also the plain negative of aru is nai.

ときどき映画を見る。
Tokidoki eiga o miru.
I sometimes watch movies.

たかはしさんは魚を食べない。
Takahashi san wa sakana o tabenai.
Ms. Takahashi doesn't eat fish.

答はないでしょう。
Kotae wa nai deshou.
There isn't an answer, is there?

To form the plain past tense for v-stem verbs add -ta to the stem. For c-stem verbs use the appropriate change in the following list:

su => shita	話す	hanasu	話した	hanashita talked
ku => ita	聞く	kiku	聞いた	kiita asked
gu => ida	泳ぐ	oyogu	泳いだ	oyoida swam
ru => tta	塗る	nuru	塗った	nutta painted
tsu => tta	持つ	motsu	持った	motta held
u => tta	思う	omou	思った	omotta thought
bu => nda	飛ぶ	tobu	飛んだ	tonda flew
mu => nda	飲む	nomu	飲んだ	nonda drank
nu => nda	死ぬ	shinu	死んだ	shinda died

Past Tense

The plain past tense of iku, kuru and suru are itta, kita and shita, respectively.
To form the negative of the plain past tense, add -nakatta to the stem of v-stem verbs and -anakatta to the stem of c-stem verbs.

yomu	yomanakatta	didn't read
読む	読まなかった
taberu	tabenakatta	didn't eat
食べる	食べなかった

As long as the verb at the end of a sentence is in the polite form, any verbs in the middle can be in the plain form without affecting the overall tone. This means that the plain form can be used when sentences are joined with kedo, for example, or when they finish with deshou.

体育の先生はいい人だけど、ちょっと変ですね。
Taiiku no sensei wa ii hito da kedo, chotto hen desu ne.
The physical education teacher is nice, but he's a bit strange, isn't he!

たかはしさんは英語がわかるでしょうか。
Takahashi san wa eigo ga wakaru deshou ka.
I wonder if Ms. Takahashi understands English?

兄は行かないけど、私は行きます。
Ani wa ikanai kedo, watashi wa ikimasu.
My older brother is not coming, but I am.

今日は金曜日だと思ったけど、違いますね。
Kyou wa kinyoubi da to omotta kedo, chigaimasu ne.
I thought it was Friday today, but it isn't, is it!

This page is a part of "Some Notes on Japanese Grammar" published for your personal use, with the kind permission of Keith Smillie (http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~smillie/)