⏰ Past Tense with ます Form
Learn how to talk about things you did in the past! This lesson will show you how to change verbs in the polite ます form to their past tense ました form. This is a key skill for sharing your experiences and stories in Japanese.
🎯 Learning Objectives
- • Change verbs from ます form to past tense ました form
- • Use time words to talk about the past
- • Build sentences about things you did
- • Listen and recognize past tense verbs
- • Practice with common verbs and examples
- • Learn common sentence patterns for past events
How to Make Past Tense (ました)
To say you did something in the past, just change the ending ます to ました. This works for all verbs in the polite form!
🔑 Past Tense Rule
Step 1
Start with ます form
たべます
Step 2
Change ます → ました
たべました
📝 More Examples:
たべます → たべました (ate)
のみます → のみました (drank)
いきます → いきました (went)
はなします → はなしました (spoke)
あそびます → あそびました (played)
💡 Good News for Beginners!
In Japanese, making past tense with ます verbs is very simple - all verbs follow the same pattern! This is much easier than English where past tense forms can be irregular (go → went, eat → ate, etc.). In Japanese polite form, just remember to change ます to ました.
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Types of Verbs in Japanese
In Japanese, there are different verb groups, but the good news is that ALL verb groups follow the same pattern for past tense in polite form: just replace ます with ました!
Group 1: う-verbs
Examples: はなします, かきます, よみます
Replace ます with ました
Group 2: る-verbs
Examples: たべます, みます, おきます
Replace ます with ました
Group 3: Irregular
Examples: します → しました, きます → きました
Special forms, but still end with ました
📚
Common Verbs in Past Tense
Here are some of the most useful verbs you'll use every day. Practice changing them to the past tense!
| Present (ます) | Past (ました) | English |
|---|---|---|
たべます | たべました | eat → ate |
のみます | のみました | drink → drank |
みます | みました | see → saw |
かきます | かきました | write → wrote |
よみます | よみました | read → read |
いきます | いきました | go → went |
かえります | かえりました | return → returned |
ききます | ききました | listen → listened |
はなします | はなしました | speak → spoke |
べんきょうします | べんきょうしました | study → studied |
おきます | おきました | wake up → woke up |
ねます | ねました | sleep → slept |
とくべつ (Special) Verbs
While most verbs follow the simple ます → ました pattern, there are two very important verbs that are considered "irregular" in their dictionary form. However, even these verbs follow the same pattern in polite past tense!
| Present (ます) | Past (ました) | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
します | しました | do → did | しゅくだいをしました (I did my homework) |
きます | きました | come → came | がっこうにきました (I came to school) |
Time Words for Past Tense
Use these words to show when something happened. Put them at the beginning of your sentence for natural Japanese!
きのう
yesterday
おととい
the day before yesterday
せんしゅう
last week
せんげつ
last month
まえ
before
さっき
a moment ago
さくじつ
yesterday (formal)
きょねん
last year
せんしゅうのにちようび
last Sunday
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Sentence Patterns for Past Events
Here are some common patterns for talking about things that happened in the past:
Pattern 1
[いつ] + [なに] + を + [どうし]ました
きのう ほん を よみました
Yesterday I read a book
When + What + を + Verb(past)
Pattern 2
[いつ] + [どこ] + に + [どうし]ました
せんしゅう えいがかん に いきました
Last week I went to the movie theater
When + Where + に + Verb(past)
Pattern 3
[いつ] + [だれ] + と + [どうし]ました
きのう ともだち と あそびました
Yesterday I played with a friend
When + Who + と + Verb(past)
れい: Example Sentences in Past Tense
See how past tense verbs are used in real sentences. Listen and repeat for practice!
きのうすしをたべました。
Yesterday, I ate sushi.
せんしゅうえいがをみました。
Last week, I watched a movie.
おとといほんをよみました。
The day before yesterday, I read a book.
きのうともだちとはなしました。
Yesterday, I spoke with a friend.
きのうコーヒーをのみました。
Yesterday, I drank coffee.
きのうがっこうにいきました。
Yesterday, I went to school.
きのうおんがくをききました。
Yesterday, I listened to music.
きのううちにかえりました。
Yesterday, I returned home.
きのうべんきょうしました。
Yesterday, I studied.
きのうはやくおきました。
Yesterday, I woke up early.
きのうおそくねました。
Yesterday, I slept late.
When to Use Past Tense
🗣️ Talking About:
- • What you did yesterday or before
- • Places you visited
- • Food you ate
- • Movies or books you enjoyed
- • Events that happened
💬 Common Questions:
- • きのうなにをしましたか？
(What did you do yesterday?)
- • なにをたべましたか？
(What did you eat?)
- • どこにいきましたか？
(Where did you go?)
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まとめ: Key Points to Remember
- • All verbs in polite form use ました for past tense
- • The pattern is very simple: ます → ました
- • Even "irregular" verbs follow the same pattern in polite form
- • Use time words like きのう (yesterday) at the beginning of sentences
- • Sentence order: [Time Word] + [Subject/Object] + [Verb in ました form]
- • Listen for ました at the end to recognize past tense
れんしゅう: Practice Quiz
🎯 Try This Right Now:
- • Say three things you did yesterday using ました
- • Listen to the examples above and repeat them out loud
- • Write a daily journal entry using past tense verbs
- • Practice asking and answering "きのうなにをしましたか？"
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