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Japanese Lesson: Verbs (formal past and present tense)
I have tried to make this lesson in the past but never really figured out the best way to go about doing it. But it was requested, so I will try my best.
There is informal and formal speech in Japanese, just like any other language. The way you speak in Japanese depends on how old you are, how old the person/people you are speaking to is, where you are, etc. So, I will be teaching some Japanese verbs and their past tense as well.
To conjugate masu verbs (here I am just covering the 'masu' verbs), you simply change the す at the end to a し、and add た
食べます（たべます）tabemasu: To eat
Past tense 食べました（たべました）tabemashita: Ate
Example: リンゴを食べますringo o tabemasu - I/she/he/it eat an apple
Past tense example: リンゴを食べました（りんごをたべました）ringo o tabemashita- I/she/he/it ate an apple
飲みます（のみます）nomimasu - To drink
飲みました（のみました）nomimashita- Drank
Example: 猫はミルクを飲みます（ねこはみるくをのみます）neko wa miruku o nomimasu- The cat drinks milk
Past tense example：猫はミルクを飲みました（ねこはみるくをたべました）neko wa miruku wo nomimashita- The cat drank milk
遊びます（あそびます）asobimasu- To play
Past tense: 遊びました（あそびました）asobimashita - Played
Example: 一緒に遊びます（いっしょにあそびます）issho ni asobimasu -We play together
Past tense example: 一緒に遊びました（いっしょにあそびました）issho ni asobimashita- We played together
From here on to save time (typing) for myself, I will simply put the present tense words and examples. All of the verbs are conjugated the same way
料理します（りょうりします）ryourishimasu- To cook
Example: 子供たちは朝ご飯を料理します（こどもたちはあさごはんをりょうりします）kodomotachi wa asagohan o ryourishimasu- The children cook breakfast
踊ります（おどります）odorimasu- To dance
Example: 彼氏と踊りました（かれしとおどりました）kareshi to odorimashita
歩きます（あるきます）arukimasu- To walk
Example: 学校へ歩きますか？（がっこうへあるきますか）gakkou e arukimasu ka?- Do you walk to school?
言えます（いえます）iemasu- To say
Past tense example: いいえと言いました（いいえといいました）iie to iimashita- They said no
行きます（いきます）ikimasu- To go
Example: 学校に行きます（がっこうにいきます）gakkou ni ikimasu- I go to school
来ます（きます）kimasu- To come
Example: ドイツから来ました（どいつからきました）doitsu kara kimashita- I'm from Germany (lit. I came from Germany)
As always, if I made any mistakes, native speakers please correct me.
Other lessons
Pronouns: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/18259944
Basic Phrases: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/18395693
Basic Vocabulary: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/18417681
Slang: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/18424332
School: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/18802842
'i' adjectives: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/18897287
17 Comments
I used to think I knew a good amount of japanese words( I know like 6 i think) and because people usally know two and now I stand corrected XD. Great lesson
2030
Thank you so much for this! My Japanese course is killing me... I'll definitely be looking at these lessons for a bit of help!
I haven't been following all of these lessons, but I'm still impressed with the commendable effort I've been seeing. Take a lingot, and keep up the great work. =D
