6.1 です (desu) and ます (masu)

Having progressed through the preceding modules and gained mastery over the です (desu) form, our focus in this module will shift towards another crucial sentence-ending form ます (masu), which is used to express politeness and formality in speech.

Congratulations on advancing to the next level in your Japanese language journey! Mastering the ます-form enhances your ability to communicate politely and effectively, making it an essential skill for language learners. Let’s dive in.

Differences from the です-form

While the です (desu) form is a polite copula that links the subject and predicate to form basic statements (e.g., XはYです), the ます-form specifically modifies verbs to indicate polite present or future actions. It’s used extensively in everyday interactions, formal settings and written communications.

 

Tense

The ます-form primarily indicates actions performed in the present or future tense. It’s flexible enough to convey both habitual actions and planned activities, making it indispensable for polite communication in various contexts.

 

Time reference words with ます-form

Time reference words play a crucial role when using the ます-form in Japanese to specify when an action occurs. They help differentiate between present and future contexts in a language where the future tense isn’t distinctly marked. Here are some commonly used time reference words:

1. Specific points in time

  • 月曜日 （げつようび: getsu-youbi）: Monday
  • 九月 （くがつ: ku-gatsu）: September
  • 四時 （よじ: yo-ji）: four o’clock

For more details on the days of the week and months, please refer to Module 8.4 (to be hyperlinked). For information on how to ask and tell time, please see Module 11.3 (to be hyperlinked).

2. Broader time framework

  • 今日 （きょう: kyou）: today
  • 明日 （あした: ashita）: tomorrow
  • 毎日 （まいにち: mai nichi）: every day
  • 朝 （あさ: asa）: morning or in the morning
  • （お）昼（ひる: [o]hiru）: noon or at noon
  • 夜（よる: yoru）: night or at night
  • 毎朝 （まいあさ: mai asa）: every morning
  • 毎晩 （まいばん: mai ban）: every night
  • 週末 （しゅうまつ: shuu matsu）: weekend
  • 来週 （rai shuu）: next week

These words clarify whether an action takes place occurs habitually or will happen in the future.

Exclamation Icon Note that time reference words in the second category (specific points in time) are preceded by the particle に in sentences. On the other hand, time reference words in the first category (broader time frame) generally do not require any particles before them in sentences.

Now, let’s explore the grammatical rules in more detail.

 

Usages in sentences

Here’s a sentence pattern that you can use in ます-forms:

Topic は + Time reference word (に) + Place (で) + Object を + Verb + ます。

Time reference words usually come after the topic and the appropriate topic particle.

 

For example, to say ‘I drink coffee at a café ‘ in Japanese, you use the ます-form of 飲（の）む (nomu: to drink), which is 飲みます (nomi masu), like this:

         私は 毎朝（まいあさ） カフェで コーヒーを 飲みます。
        Topic Time  Place Object  Verb

Watashi wa maiasa kafe de koohii o nomi masu.

I drink coffee at a café every morning.

[Audio file to be added once finalised]

Here, the time reference word 毎朝 does not take the particle に because it refers to a general time frame. However, when specifying a specific day like Friday （金曜日: すいようび: kinyou-bi）, it takes the particle に, as in 私は金曜日にカフェでコーヒーを飲みます （Watashi wa kinyoubi ni kafe de kohii o nomi masu）.
That concludes this module. Stay tuned for the next module where we will delve into conjugating verbs into the ます-form!

Exercise 1

 

 

Figures

1 Exclamation Icon “Exclamation Sign Icon” (untitled) by Dave Gandy. Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC by SA 3.0.

 

Licence

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Japanese Introductory 1 Copyright © 2024 by Iori Hamada is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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