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Grammar detail: verb plain past form

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JLPT:
verb plain past form
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The Japanese past tense is used for two common English tenses - the 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 ate
For godan verbs it's a little more complicated - the past ending depends on the consonant used in the plain form:
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
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See also:
  • verb stem + ました - simple past
  • verb plain form (also known as the dictionary form)
  • Key verb conjugations
  • Japanese verbs and verb conjugation

Kanji used in this grammar

食
ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   くう to eat   
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