12.3 Past Tense of Verbs
This module demonstrates how to effectively use past-tense verbs in Japanese to describe past actions, events and experiences, perfect for narrating personal experiences or recounting past events such as a trip to Japan.
Introduction to the past tense of verbs
In Module 6.2, we explored verbs and their conjugations in the polite form – ます form – focusing on the present and future (or non-past) tense. Building upon that foundation, this module introduces past-tense verbs in Japanese. Verbs in the past tense convey actions or states that occurred in the past. Let’s delve into how the past tense is formed for different types of verbs and how past-tense verbs are used in questions and sentences.
Forming past-tense verbs
In Japanese, the polite past tense of many verbs is straightforward once you know the ます form. ました is the affirmative past-tense ending, and ませんでした is the negative past-tense ending. Here’s how the different verb types – ru-verbs, u-verbs and irregular verbs – are conjugated:
1. Ru-verbs
Affirmative past-tense forms
To form the affirmative past tense of ru-verbs, replace ます with ました.
- Example: 食（た）べます (tabe masu) — ‘to eat’
→ 食べました (tabe mashita) — ‘ate’
Negative past-tense forms
To form the negative past tense of ru-verbs, replace ません with ませんでした.
- Example: 食べません (tabe masen) — ‘do/does not eat’
→ 食べませんでした (tabe masen deshita) — ‘did/does not eat’
2. U-verbs
Affirmative past-tense forms
Just as with ru-verbs, you can form the affirmative past tense of u-verbs by simply changing ます to ました. Here’s a table showing the ます and ました forms for each type of u-verb. This is also a great opportunity to review how to conjugate u-verbs into the ます form:
| Ending | Dictionary Form | Conjugation: Change /u/ to /i/ sound | Non-Past Tense (Polite) | Past Tense (Polite) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| う | 買う (kau: to buy) | う (u) → い (i) | 買います (kai masu) | 買いました (kai mashita) |
| つ | 持つ (motsu: to hold) | つ (tsu) → ち (chi) | 持ちます (mochi masu) | 持ちました (mochi mashita) |
| る | 切る (kiru: to cut) | る (ru) → り (ri) | 切ります (kiri masu) | 切りました (kiri mashita) |
| む | 飲む (nomu: to drink) | む (mu) → み (mi) | 飲みます (nomi masu) | 飲みました (nomi mashita) |
| ぶ | 遊ぶ (asobu: to play) | ぶ (bu) → び (bi) | 遊びます (asobi masu) | 遊びました (asobi mashita) |
| ぬ | 死ぬ (shinu: to die) | ぬ (nu) → に (ni) | 死にます (shini masu) | 死にました (shini mashita) |
| く | 書く (kaku: to write) | く (ku) → き (ki) | 書きます (kaki masu) | 書きました (kaki mashita) |
| ぐ | 泳ぐ (oyogu: to swim) | ぐ (gu) → ぎ (gi) | 泳ぎます (oyogi masu) | 泳ぎました (oyogi mashita) |
| す | 話す (hanasu: to speak) | す (su) → し (shi) | 話します (hanashi masu) | 話しました (hanashi mashita) |
Negative Form
Just as with ru-verbs, you can form the negative past tense of u-verbs by simply changing ません to ませんでした.
- Example: 話しません (hanashi masen) — ‘do/does not speak’
→ 話しませんでした (hanashi masen deshita) — ‘did not speak’
3. Irregular verbs
Irregular verbs have unique forms in ました, which differ from their ます forms. Here’s a table of the affirmative non-past and past polite forms of irregular verbs:
Affirmative past-tense forms
| Dictionary Form | Meaning | Non-Past Tense (Polite) | Past Tense (Polite) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 来る (kuru) | to come | 来ます (ki masu) | 来ました (ki mashita) |
| する (suru) | to do | します (shi masu) | しました (shi mashita) |
| 勉強（べんきょう）する (benkyou suru) | to study | 勉強します (benkyou shi masu) | 勉強しました (benkyou shi mashita) |
Negative past-tense forms
Just as with other verb types, you can form the negative past tense of irregular verbs by simply changing ません to ませんでした.
- Example: 来ません (ki masen) — ‘do/does not come’
→ 来ませんでした (ki masen deshita) — ‘did not come’
Using past-tense verbs in sentences
Using past-tense verbs in Japanese allows you to describe actions or states that occurred in the past. Here are some commonly used sentence patterns with past-tense verbs:
1. Affirmative past-tense sentences
去年（きょねん）、日本（にほん）に行（い）きました。
Kyonen, Nihon ni iki mashita.
He went to Japan last year.
NOTE: The time reference 去年 does not take the particle に because it indicates a relative time frame rather than a specific point in time (i.e., ‘last year’ could be 1996, 2024 or any other year, depending on when you say it). For further details on when to use or omit に with time expressions, see Module 6.2.
京都（きょうと）で古（ふる）いお寺（てら）を見（み）ました。
Kyouto de furui otera o mi mashita.
I saw old temples in Kyoto. (Or: I saw an old temple in Kyoto.)
疲（つか）れましたから、ホテル（ほてる）で休（やす）みました。
Tsukare mashita kara, hoteru de yasumi mashita.
I rested at the hotel because I was tired.
2. Negative past-tense sentences
大阪（おおさか）に行（い）きませんでした。
Oosaka ni iki masen deshita.
I didn’t go to Osaka.
富士山（ふじさん）の写真（しゃしん）を撮（と）りませんでした。
Fuji-san no shashin o tori masen deshita.
I didn’t take photos of Mt. Fuji.
昨日（きのう）、友達（ともだち）は学校（がっこう）に来（き）ませんでした。
Kinou tomodachi wa gakkou ni ki masen deshita.
My friend didn’t come to school yesterday.
NOTE: The time reference 昨日 does not take the particle に because it indicates a relative time frame rather than a specific point in time. For further details on when to use or omit に with time expressions, see Module 6.2.
3. Questions in the past tense
Closed-ended questions:
ドアを閉（し）めましたか。
Doa o shime mashita ka.
Did you close the door?
スマホを充電（じゅうでん）しましたか。
Sumaho o juuden shi mashita ka.
Did you charge your smartphone?
Open-ended questions:
先週（せんしゅう）、何（なに）をしましたか。
Senshuu, nani o shi mashita ka.
What did you do last week?
NOTE: The time reference 先週 does not take the particle に because it indicates a relative time frame rather than a specific point in time. For further details on when to use or omit に with time expressions, see Module 6.2.
日本で何（なに）を買（か）いましたか。
Nihon de nani o kai mashita ka.
What did you buy in Japan?
These examples illustrate how past-tense verbs in the polite form are used in various contexts to express actions and events that occurred in the past.
Exercise 1
