部
Components
Grammar detail: verb plain past form
My current mastery of this grammar point:
The plain past form of a verb is used for sentence-ending verbs in casual conversation, and whenever a past tense verb is used in a clause that forms part of a larger sentence in both casual and polite speech. (In polite speech, the simple past form is used.)
The Japanese past tense is used for two common English tenses - the English simple past (I came, I saw, I conquered etc), as well as the present perfect (I have read, I have understood etc).
The plain past is easy to form for ichidan verbs - just replace the る with た. For example:
た
食
べる (eat) ➜ た
食
べた ateFor godan verbs it's a little more complicated - the past ending depends on the consonant used in the plain form (the dictionary form) of the verb:
| Plain form | Plain past form | |
|---|---|---|
| かく | to write | かいた |
| およぐ | to swim | およいだ |
| まつ | to wait | まった |
| しぬ | to die | しんだ |
| はなす | to speak | はなした |
See also:
Problem with this grammar? Question or
comment? Please CONTACT US.
Kanshudo is your AI Japanese tutor, and your constant companion on the road to mastery of the Japanese language.
To get started learning Japanese, just follow the study recommendations on your Dashboard.
You can use Quick search (accessible using the icon at the top of every page) to look up any Japanese word, kanji or grammar point, as well as to find anything on Kanshudo quickly.
For an overview, take the tour.
