形Verbs and descriptions
Verb forms
Every verb changes form to show tense, politeness and negation. Learn the three groups and you can handle almost all of them.
The four polite forms
ます changes, the stem stays
These are safe with almost anyone and easy to form once you know the stem.
| Now or future | Past | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 食べます | 食べました |
| No | 食べません | 食べませんでした |
The four plain forms
Used with friends, and inside longer sentences
The plain form with る or う is the “dictionary form”, the one you'll look up.
| Now or future | Past | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 食べる | 食べた |
| No | 食べない | 食べなかった |
Three groups
How do you know which group a verb is in?
Some verbs look like group 2 but belong to group 1, such as 帰る, 入る, 知る and 走る.
| Group | How to spot it | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | Ends in any う sound, or often る after a, u or o | 書く, 飲む, 話す, 買う, 取る |
| Group 2 | Ends in いる or える and keeps its stem | 食べる, 見る, 寝る, 起きる |
| Irregular | Just these two | する, 来る |
See them change
Pick a verb
Each row shows how the polite and plain forms line up.
writes, doesn't write, wrote
Group 1 changes its last sound: -i before ます, -a before ない.
Odd ones out
A few to memorize
行く is a regular group 1 verb except that its past is 行った. ある has the negative ない, not あらない. Forms like ます and ない also say something about who you're talking to, so you'll usually hear plain forms only among friends or family.
Check yourself
What does this verb say?
Your turn
Past or present?
Find the mistake
Tap the part that's wrong.
。
Say it yourself
Yesterday
Someone asks what you did yesterday. Name one thing you did, and one thing you didn't do.
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