12.4 Past Tense of あります (ari masu) and います (i masu)
This module explores how to express the past tense of あります (ari masu) and います (i masu) in Japanese, which are essential for describing the presence or existence of things and people in past contexts.
Introduction to the past tense of verbs of existence
In Module 8.4, we covered how to use X があります (X ga ari masu) and X がいます (X ga i masu) to talk about the existence of sentient beings and objects or non-sentient beings (including events) in the present or future.
This module builds on that by showing you how to express these ideas in the past tense.
Note: Although this structure is often translated as ‘There is/are’ or There was/were, it does not always correspond directly to English usage. For example, while ‘昨日（きのう）、ここに田中（たなか）さんがいました’ (Kinou koko ni Tanaka-san ga imashita) literally means ‘Tanaka-san was here yesterday’, English would typically phrase this as ‘Tanaka-san was here yesterday’ rather than ‘There was Tanaka-san here yesterday’.
Similarly, ‘先週（せんしゅう）、教室（きょうしつ）に先生（せんせい）がいませんでした’ (Senshuu kyoushitsu ni sensei ga imasen deshita) means ‘There was no teacher in the classroom last week’, but English speakers would naturally say ‘There wasn’t a teacher in the classroom last week’.
Usage in sentences
1. Past tense of X があります
In Japanese, X があります is used to indicate the existence of objects, non-sentient beings and events.
Affirmative past-tense form (There was/were …): Replace あります with ありました to indicate that something existed in the past. For example:
昨日（きのう）、お祭（まつ）りがありました。
Kinou omatsuri ga ari mashita.
There was a festival yesterday.
Negative past-tense form (There wasn’t/weren’t …): Replace あります with ありませんでした to indicate that something did not exist in the past. For example:
今日（きょう）、日本語（にほんご）のクラス（くらす）がありませんでした。
Kinou, Nihongo no kurasu ga ari masen deshita.
There was no Japanese class yesterday.
Questions (Was/Were there …?): Add the question particle か to ありました to ask whether something existed in the past. For example:
日本（にほん）にたくさん面白（おもしろ）い場所（ばしょ）がありましたか。
Nihon ni takusan omoshiroi basho ga ari mashita ka.
Were there many interesting places in Japan?
2. Past tense of X がいます
X がいます is used to indicate the existence or presence of sentient beings (people, animals).
Affirmative past-tense form (There was/were …): Replace います with いました to indicate that a person or animal existed or was present in the past. For example:
昨日、ここに田中さんがいました。
Kinou koko ni Tanaka-san ga i mashita.
Tanaka-san was here yesterday.
Negative past-tense form (There wasn’t/weren’t …): Replace います with いませんでした to indicate that a person or animal existed or was not present in the past. For example:
先週（せんしゅう）、教室（きょうしつ）に先生（せんせい）がいませんでした。
Senshuu, kyoushitsu ni sensei ga i masen deshita.
The teacher was not in the classroom last week.
Questions (Was/Were there …?): Add the question particle か to いました to ask whether a person or animal existed or was present in the past. For example:
東京（とうきょう）にたくさん外国の観光客（かんこうきゃく）がいましたか。
Toukyou ni takusan gaikoku no kankoukyaku ga i mashita ka.
Were there many tourists from overseas in Tokyo?
Exercise 1
