In this guide
- Introduction
- Start with one useful change
- Give one base four useful endings
- How do you choose the group?
- Say “don’t,” “won’t” and “didn’t” in plain style
- Report a completed action in plain style
- Use the past sound changes to make the て-form
- Describe an action happening now
- A reference for the other godan endings
- Leave with a small family of forms
- About the author
When you learn 食べる, “eat,” it’s easy to picture a use for it: there’s another meal coming, and you might want to talk about it in Japanese. You might also want to say what you ate yesterday, or explain that you didn’t eat breakfast. You’re still talking about eating, but the verb takes a different form to help express each meaning. Changing a verb’s form like this is called conjugation.
I like to keep that connection between the ending and the meaning in view. It gives me a reason to learn each change: I can use one to talk about a plan, another to say something didn’t happen. The verb becomes more useful as those possibilities open up.
We’ll start with a small change to 食べる, then build the everyday forms for talking politely, saying what you don’t do and describing past events. Along the way, you’ll see how the three main verb groups guide the changes, and how to connect actions or make a simple request. There’s an ending reference to return to when you want to try another verb.
Start with one useful change
食べる is the form a dictionary lists, so we call it the dictionary form. To make its polite ます form, remove the final る and add ます: 食べる → 食べます. This gives you a form you can use for an ordinary plan with someone you don’t know well.
明日は家で食べます。
I’ll eat at home tomorrow.
The remove-る pattern is called ichidan. When your dictionary labels another verb ichidan, you can make the same change. 見る (“watch”) becomes 見ます. Try one more before we add a different pattern.
The ichidan change
起きる (“get up”) is ichidan. Say “I’ll get up” politely. Use the remove-る pattern you just learned.
起きる → ?
Give one base four useful endings
読む (“read”) uses the other regular pattern, called godan. Here, change the final む to み, then add ます: 読む → 読みます. 書く (“write”) is godan too: change く to き to get 書きます. The part before that last kana stays put.
These new final sounds are the い-row partners of the dictionary endings. Other godan endings have their own partners; the reference near the end gives all nine. For now, 読み and 書き give us enough to make several useful sentences.
毎朝、本を読みます。
I read a book every morning.
明日、手紙を書きます。
I’ll write a letter tomorrow.
ます is polite nonpast. “Nonpast” covers a routine like reading every morning and a future action like writing tomorrow. For an ordinary action happening right now, Japanese often uses ています instead; we’ll build that later.
Keep the part before ます and you can change the meaning without making a new base. With 読み, replace ます with ません for “don’t/won’t,” ました for “did,” or ませんでした for “didn’t.”
| What you want to say | Ending | With 読む |
|---|---|---|
| Read / will read, politely | ます | 読みます |
| Do not / will not read, politely | ません | 読みません |
| Read in the past, politely | ました | 読みました |
| Did not read, politely | ませんでした | 読みませんでした |
The same endings attach to the ichidan base 食べ: 食べます, 食べません, 食べました, 食べませんでした. You choose polite speech separately from time and negativity; being polite doesn’t stop you saying no.
今日は肉を食べません。
I won’t eat meat today.
昨日は本を読みませんでした。
I didn’t read a book yesterday.
Use the same base for “didn’t”
You are speaking politely. Complete “I didn’t read yesterday.” The 読み base is the same one you used in 読みます.
昨日は読み＿。
The two main irregular verbs
The third group has two everyday verbs whose bases you should learn separately: する (“do”) becomes します, and 来る (“come”) becomes 来ます. Notice the reading change from くる to きます. After し or き, use the same four polite endings: しません means “don’t/won’t do,” and 来ました means “came.”
昨日、そうじをしました。
I did the cleaning yesterday.
明日、友だちが来ます。
A friend will come tomorrow.
For an ordinary polite statement about doing something, change the verb itself. 食べます is the form you need; attaching です to make 食べるです doesn’t work.
How do you choose the group?
For the two regular groups, a dictionary form without final る is godan: 読む and 書く, for example. Ichidan verbs end in an -iru or -eru sound, like 見る and 食べる. But that sound is only a clue. 帰る (“return”) ends in -eru and is godan: its polite form is 帰ります.
For an unfamiliar る verb, check the dictionary’s group label. You don’t need to memorise a list of exceptions before using the verb. Some dictionaries call godan Group 1, ichidan Group 2 and the main irregulars Group 3; those are alternative names for the same groups.
Say “don’t,” “won’t” and “didn’t” in plain style
Plain style is common with friends and close family and in many kinds of writing. It doesn’t automatically mean rude; choose the style for the relationship and setting. You can express the same basic time and negative meanings in either style.
The dictionary form is already the plain form for an action you do or will do: 食べる can mean “eat” or “will eat.” Grammar books call this affirmative nonpast: affirmative means it isn’t negative. The negative and past versions are plain forms too, so “plain form” doesn’t always mean “dictionary form.”
Make the negative with ない
For ichidan verbs, remove る and add ない: 食べる → 食べない, 見る → 見ない. For godan verbs, change the final kana to its あ-row partner and add ない. 読む gives 読まない; godan 帰る gives 帰らない.
A final う becomes わ before ない. With 買う (“buy”), the result is 買わない. With 使う (“use”), it is 使わない. Keep that わ: 買あない isn’t the form.
明日は車を使わない。
I won’t use the car tomorrow.
The irregular forms are する → しない and 来る → 来ない, pronounced こない. Another useful exception is ある (“exist/have,” for things): its negative is simply ない.
今日は時間がない。
I don’t have time today.
Use a new う-ending verb
会う (“meet”) is godan. Say “I won’t meet a friend tomorrow” in plain style. Fill the gap with the whole negative verb, in kanji or hiragana.
明日は友だちに＿。
Carry the negative into the past
Now replace final ない with なかった to say “didn’t.” You can reuse the negative you already have: 読まない → 読まなかった and 食べない → 食べなかった. Replace ない rather than adding た after it.
This works with the irregular negatives too: しない → しなかった and 来ない → 来なかった, pronounced こなかった. The negative ない from ある becomes なかった.
昨日は朝ごはんを食べなかった。
I didn’t eat breakfast yesterday.
昨日は時間がなかった。
I didn’t have time yesterday.
Choose both plain past negatives
You want plain sentences saying something did not happen yesterday. Select both forms that express a past negative.
Which two mean “didn’t”?
Report a completed action in plain style
For “ate” or “watched,” ichidan verbs keep the familiar approach: remove る and add た. 食べる → 食べた; 見る → 見た. The main irregulars are する → した and 来る → 来た, pronounced きた.
昨日、映画を見た。
I watched a film yesterday.
Godan past forms use sound changes. Start from the dictionary form again, not the polite base: 読む becomes 読んだ, while 書く becomes 書いた. The final dictionary kana decides which change to make.
昨日、手紙を書いた。
I wrote a letter yesterday.
週末、本を読んだ。
I read a book at the weekend.
Several endings share a change. Learn them as five families, with the earlier part of the verb left in place. The small っ in った is a brief hold before the following t sound, not a full-size つ syllable.
| Godan dictionary ending | Plain past ending | Worked examples |
|---|---|---|
| う・つ・る | った | 買う → 買った (buy) |
| む・ぶ・ぬ | んだ | 読む → 読んだ (read) |
| く | いた | 書く → 書いた (write) |
| ぐ | いだ | 泳ぐ → 泳いだ (swim) |
| す | した | 話す → 話した (speak) |
行く (“go”) is the important exception to the く pattern: its past is 行った. Also remember which る pattern you’re using: godan 帰る becomes 帰った, while ichidan 食べる becomes 食べた.
Apply two past patterns
飲む (“drink”) and 行く (“go”) are godan. Choose the pair of plain past forms for “drank” and “went,” in that order.
飲む → ? / 行く → ?
Plain 見た and polite 見ました can describe the same past event. 昨日、映画を見ました is still “I watched a film yesterday”; the ending changes the style. To say you didn’t watch it, use plain 見なかった or polite 見ませんでした.
Use the past sound changes to make the て-form
The て-form attaches an action to something else. It can connect actions, make a request with ください or join with いる. There isn’t one English word that translates て in all these patterns.
Start with the plain affirmative past, rather than a negative or polite past form. Replace its final た with て, or final だ with で: 食べた gives 食べて; 読んだ gives 読んで. Forms ending in で count as て-forms too.
That gives you ichidan 食べる → 食べて and godan 帰る → 帰って without a second set of sound changes to learn. For the main irregulars, use する → して and 来る → 来て, pronounced きて. The 行く exception carries over as 行って.
This past/て pairing is the part I’d practise aloud: 読んだ・読んで, 書いた・書いて, 帰った・帰って. The beginning stays familiar, and you can hear the small change at the end. It’s more useful than treating every form as an unrelated new word.
Connect actions in order
Put the first action in the て-form, then finish the sentence with the second verb. Start from 朝ごはんを食べます, “I eat breakfast.” Change 食べる to 食べて when that action leads into the next one.
朝ごはんを食べて、学校に行きます。
I’ll eat breakfast and then go to school.
朝ごはんを食べて、学校に行きました。
I ate breakfast and then went to school.
食べて stays the same in both sentences. In this sequence, the final verb places the events in nonpast or past; て itself doesn’t select a time. Context helps too, just as it does with a single nonpast verb.
家に帰って、本を読みます。
I’ll go home and read a book.
Here 帰る is godan, so its first-action form is 帰って. 読みます finishes the sentence politely. You can change the actions while keeping that first-て, final-ending structure.
Join two past actions
You went home and then watched a film. 帰る (“return”) is godan. Fill the gap with its whole て-form, in kanji or hiragana.
家に＿、映画を見ました。
Ask someone to do something
Add ください directly to a verb’s て-form to make a simple request. With 待つ (“wait”), make 待って first; with 書く (“write”), make 書いて.
ここで待ってください。
Please wait here.
名前を書いてください。
Please write your name.
The verb names what you want the listener to do. There’s no extra ます between the て-form and ください. This is a useful everyday pattern; especially indirect or formal requests need further choices beyond this guide. For a softer way to ask a favor, the guide to saying please in Japanese shows how a question and a brief reason can help.
Make a request with a new verb
話す (“speak”) is godan. Ask “Please speak slowly.” ゆっくり means “slowly.”
ゆっくり＿ください。
Describe an action happening now
For many ordinary actions, add いる to the て-form for an action in progress: 読む → 読んで → 読んでいる. The polite version is 読んでいます, with います in place of いる.
今、本を読んでいます。
I’m reading a book now.
Compare that with 毎朝、本を読みます, “I read a book every morning.” 読みます describes the routine; 読んでいます describes reading in progress here. Before choosing a form, decide which situation you mean.
Choose the action happening now
Someone asks what you are doing right now. You want to answer politely, “I’m reading a book now.”
今、本を＿。
A reference for the other godan endings
You can now use the same methods with a godan ending we haven’t worked through at length. The ます and ない columns give the final kana to use before those endings. The past and て columns give the whole replacement ending. Keep everything before the final dictionary kana.
| Dictionary ending | Before ます | Before ない | Plain past ending | て-form ending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| う | い | わ | った | って |
| く | き | か | いた | いて |
| ぐ | ぎ | が | いだ | いで |
| す | し | さ | した | して |
| つ | ち | た | った | って |
| ぬ | に | な | んだ | んで |
| ぶ | び | ば | んだ | んで |
| む | み | ま | んだ | んで |
| る | り | ら | った | って |
For example, 泳ぐ (“swim”) is godan. The ぐ row gives 泳ぎます, 泳がない, 泳いだ and 泳いで. For “didn’t swim,” start with 泳がない and make 泳がなかった. For polite “didn’t swim,” keep 泳ぎ and add ませんでした: 泳ぎませんでした.
昨日は泳ぎませんでした。
I didn’t swim yesterday.
This table doesn’t apply to ichidan verbs. With 借りる (“borrow”), which is ichidan, remove る instead: 借りる → 借ります, 借りない, 借りた, 借りて. Its plain “didn’t borrow” is 借りなかった. An -iru ending alone wouldn’t prove its group; the dictionary label does.
昨日は本を借りなかった。
I didn’t borrow a book yesterday.
If a dictionary gives you a new godan る verb, such as 送る (“send”), use the る row: 送ります, 送らない, 送った, 送って. That contrast with 借りる is why checking a る verb’s group matters more than memorising its last syllable.
手紙を送って、家に帰りました。
I sent a letter and then went home.
Leave with a small family of forms
Choose one verb you expect to use, and say a few connected forms aloud. For 読む, try 読みます・読みませんでした, then 読まない・読まなかった, then 読んだ・読んで. Each pair shares something you’ve already made. Listen for the base or ending that the two forms have in common.
Then put one of those forms into a sentence you might actually say. Change the time, change whether it happened, or connect it to a second action. A useful next practice session is one where the ending changes because your meaning changed.
Change the meaning, then change the ending
Choose 送る (“send,” godan) or 借りる (“borrow,” ichidan). Write a polite sentence about doing it tomorrow, then a plain sentence saying you didn’t do it yesterday. You can send a letter or borrow a book. Finally, connect two actions of your choice with a て-form. Use the reference if you need it. If you write several sentences here, “Select sentence” selects them all. This scratchpad does not assess your Japanese or save Study progress.
Copy your Japanese text, then paste it into the checker. This writing space does not assess or save your text.
About the author
B. Rungswell
B. Rungswell is the editor of the Bunpo Check blog and a native English speaker who has passed JLPT N1. Drawing on many years of life in Japan and experience working at Japanese companies, Rungswell writes practical guides to Japanese grammar for English-speaking learners.