Verb Tenses
Verbs are words that tell us about an action (run, dance, eat), an occurrence (become, change, happen) or a state of being (like, seem, be).
Unlike in English, Japanese often omits the subject of a sentence (the person doing the verb). This means that it can be both natural and correct to have a sentence consisting only of a verb.
The three types of Japanese verbs
Japanese verbs always end with a sound that includes the vowel う, such as: す、く、ぐ、ぶ、む、ぬ、る、つ or even う itself.
From this we get three categories:
- Type 1 (う) verbs, which always end in a mora that includes う
- Type 2 (る) verbs, which always end in an える or いる sound
- Two irregular verbs
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す（はなす・ to talk） | 食べる （たべる・to eat） | する (to do) |
| 聞く （きく・to listen） | 消える （きえる・to disappear) | 来る （くる・to come) |
| 泳ぐ （およぐ）to swim） | 落ちる （おちる・to fall) | |
| 呼ぶ （よぶ・to call） | 見る （みる・to see/look） | |
| 飲む （のむ・to drink) | 寝る （ねる・to sleep） | |
| 死ぬ （しぬ・to die） | 答える （こたえる・to answer) | |
| 作る （つくる・to make) | 出る （でる・to leave) | |
| 待つ （まつ・to wait) | 始める （はじめる・to begin) | |
| 払う （はらう・to pay) | 決める （きめる・to decide) |
The copula “to be”
A copula links the subject of a sentence to the rest of the sentence. In English, this is accomplished via the word to be. Although the particle は might seem to translate to is/am/are, especially in simple sentences, the Japanese copula is actually だ・です.
| Form | Casual | Polite |
|---|---|---|
| Non-past | だ | です |
| Past | だった | でした |
| Non-past negative | （では・じゃ）ない | （では・じゃ）ありません （では・じゃ）ないです |
| Past negative | （では・じゃ）なかった | （では・じゃ）ありませんでした |
| Te-form | で | N/A |
| Volitional | だろう | でしょう |
これはメロンパンだ！ This is melon bread!
子供だった春田は立派な大人になった。The child that was Haruta became a fine adult.
いや、正解はBじゃないです。No, the correct answer is not B.
Verbal inflections
Verbs in Japanese are very flexible. Each verb has several different stackable forms which communicate information such as:
- tense
- polarity ( do vs do not )
- honorifics/politeness ( yes vs yes, sir )
- verbal voice ( eat vs be eaten )
- verbal transitivity (I open the door vs the door opens)
- verbal mood ( eat vs can eat vs could eat vs would eat vs should eat vs eat! ... )
- others ( eat vs want to eat vs while eating…)
Verb Tenses
There are only two tenses in Japanese: past and non-past. In other words, Japanese verbs tell you whether something has happened or not.
Simple non-past tense
The simple non-past tense shows that a given action is not yet done. Time words and other grammar are used to show whether an action is happening now, soon or at some other point in the future.
I eat a banana. 私はバナナを食べる。
He is going to Tokyo today. 彼は今日東京に行く。
He will go to Tokyo next year. 彼は来年東京に行く。
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す | 食べる | する |
| 聞く | 消える | 来る |
| 泳ぐ | 落ちる | |
| 呼ぶ | 見る | |
| 飲む | 寝る | |
| 死ぬ | 答える | |
| 作る | 出る | |
| 待つ | 始める | |
| 払う | 決める |
Simple past tense
The simple past tense shows that a given action is already done; it happened.
Type 1 verbs: See chart.
Type 2 verbs: Replace る with た.
I ate a banana. （私は）バナナを食べた
He went to Tokyo. 彼は東京に行った。
Leaves fell to the ground. 木の葉が地面に落ちた。
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す ー 話した | 食べる ー 食べた | する ー した |
| 聞く ー 聞いた | 消える ー 消えた | 来る ー 来た（きた) |
| 泳ぐ ー 泳いだ | 落ちる ー 落ちた | |
| 呼ぶ ー 読んだ | 見る ー 見た | |
| 飲む ー 飲んだ | 寝る ー 寝た | |
| 死ぬ ー 死んだ | 答える ー 答えた | |
| 作る ー 作った | 出る ー 出た | |
| 待つ ー 待った | 始める ー 始めた | |
| 払う ー 払った | 決める ー 決めた |
Progressive tense
The Japanese progressive tense has two main purposes. It can show that:
- An action itself is ongoing (similar to “to be + [verb]~ing”)
- A certain state has come about as the result of an action and that this resultant state is ongoing/persistent.
To use this tense, add いる to the て form of a verb.
I am eating a banana. 私はバナナを食べている。
I am fat. 私は太っている。
I became and am, currently, fat. I am in the state of being fat.
*Leaves are (laying on) the ground. 木の葉が地面に落ちている。
* Note the simple past sentence where leaves fell to the ground. This previous sentence referred to the action of falling, whereas this one refers not to the action of falling itself but rather the result of that falling: the persistent state that is “lying on the floor”. Having fallen, the leaves are thus currently on the ground.
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す ー 話している | 食べる ー 食べている | する ー している |
| 聞く ー 聞いている | 消える ー 消えている | 来る ー 来ている（きている） |
| 泳ぐ ー 泳いでいる | 落ちる ー 落ちている | |
| 呼ぶ ー 読んでいる | 見る ー 見ている | |
| 飲む ー 飲んでいる | 寝る ー 寝ている | |
| 死ぬ ー 死んでいる | 答える ー 答えている | |
| 作る ー 作っている | 出る ー 出ている | |
| 待つ ー 待っている | 始める ー 始めている | |
| 払う ー 払っている | 決める ー 決めている |
Polarity
Japanese does not use a separate word ( do eat vs do not eat ) to say whether an action happens or not. It instead employs one verb form to show that an action happens and another to show that an action does not happen.
I eat a banana. 私はバナナを食べる。
He went to Tokyo. 彼は東京に行った。
I am fat. 私は太っている。
Verbal negation
If a verb is in the negative form then it does not take place..
Type 1 verbs: add ~ない to the 未然形 (みぜんけい）verb stem. This stem ends with ～あ.
Type 2 verbs: replace ~る with ~ない.
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す ー 話さない | 食べる ー 食べない | する ー しない |
| 聞く ー 聞かない | 消える ー 消えない | 来る ー 来ない（こない） |
| 泳ぐ ー 泳がない | 落ちる ー 落ちない | |
| 呼ぶ ー 読まない | 見る ー 見ない | |
| 飲む ー 飲まない | 寝る ー 寝ない | |
| 死ぬ ー 死なない | 答える ー 答えない | |
| 作る ー 作らない | 出る ー 出ない | |
| 待つ ー 待たない | 始める ー 始めない | |
| 払う ー 払わない | 決める ー 決めない |
To create the negative form of past tense verbs, replace ない with なかった.
I didn’t eat a banana. 私はバナナを食べなかった。
He didn’t go to Tokyo. 彼は東京に行かなかった。
I was not fat. 私は太っていなかった。
Honorifics
Just as Japanese verbs change to show tense, they also change depending on the social status of the person you’re talking to. Physically different language is typically required to communicate the exact same information to a professor versus a classmate.
There are three broad categories of respectful language: polite language, language that raises the status of the person you’re talking to and language that lowers your own personal status.
Polite speech (～ます・丁寧語)
Using the teineigo (丁寧語) form of verbs gives your speech a polite and civil-sounding tone. It is generally used with strangers and people who are older than you and/or of a higher social status. It is typically not used with friends.
Type 1 verbs: Add ~ます to the 連用形（れんようけい）verb stem. This stem ends with ~い.
Type 2 verbs: Replace ~る with ~ます.
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す ー 話します | 食べる － 食べます | する ー します |
| 聞く ー 聞きます | 消える ー 消えます | 来る ー 来ます（きます |
| 泳ぐ － 泳ぎます | 落ちる ー 落ちます | |
| 呼ぶ －呼びます | 見る ― 見ます | |
| 飲む － 飲みます | 寝る ー 寝ます | |
| 死ぬ － 死にます | 答える ー 答えます | |
| 作る － 作ります | 出る ー 出ます | |
| 待つ － 待ちます | 始める ー 始めます | |
| 払う － 払います | 決める ー決めます |
There isn’t a difference in meaning so much as a difference in feeling.
それ、食べるの？ You’ gonna eat that?
それ、食べますか？Are you going to eat that?
To create the past tense polite form, replace ~ます with ~ました.
To create the negative polite form, replace ~ます with ~ません.
To create the negative past polite form, replace ~ます with ~ませんでした
Respectful speech (尊敬語)
Respectful speech is used when talking about the actions of someone in a higher status than you or the group you represent ー perhaps someone older than you, your boss or a customer/client. Most verbs follow a simple rule to become respectful:
Statements: お (polite prefix) + the ~ます stem of a verb + adverbial copula に + なる
Commands: お (polite prefix) + the ~ます stem of a verb + ください
こちらの資料をご覧になりますか？Would you take a look at these documents, please?
少々お待ちください。Please wait a little bit.
社長はもう新入社員にお会いになりましたか Has the manager already met the new recruits?
The passive form of a verb may also be used in place of the above structures.
Furthermore, a number of verbs have special respectful forms that must be memorized.
| Dictionary form of verb | Respectful form of verb |
|---|---|
| 行く | いらっしゃる |
| 来る | いらっしゃる |
| いる | いらっしゃる |
| 食べる、飲む | 召し上がる （めしあがる） |
| 言う | おっしゃる |
| 見る | ご覧になる（ごらんになる） |
| 知る | ご存じだ |
| 言う | 申す（もうす） |
| する | なさる、される |
Humble speech (謙譲語)
Humble speech is used when talking about your own actions, or the actions of a group you are a part of, to someone of a higher status ー perhaps your boss or a customer/client. Most verbs follow a simple rule to become humble:
お (polite prefix) + the ~ます stem of a verb + します・しましょう
荷物をお持ちましょうか？ May I take/carry your bags?
弊社のパンフレットをお送りします。I will send you our company’s pamphlet.
それでは、発表させていただきたいと思います。With that, I’d like to begin my presentation.
Alternative structures are sometimes employed, as in the third example sentence.
Again, a number of verbs have special humble forms that must be memorized.
| Dictionary form of verb | Humble form of verb |
|---|---|
| 行く | 参る（まいる |
| 来る | 参る |
| いる | おる |
| 食べる | いただく |
| 飲む | いただく |
| 聞く | 伺う（うかがう） |
| 見る | 拝見する（はいけんする) |
| 会う ー to meet | お目にかかる（おめにかかる） |
| 言う | 申す（もうす) |
| する | いたす |
| 知る ー to know | 存じる（ぞんじる） |
| あげる ー to give | 差し上げる（さしあげる） |
| もらう ー to receive | いただく |
| わかる ー to understand | かしこまる |
Voice
Grammatical voice shows how the subject of a sentence is related to the verb. Different voices are used when the subject does the verb (it eats), when the subject has the verb done to them (it is eaten) and when the subject is made to do the verb (it is made/allowed to eat).
Active voice
Verbs are things that are “done” and the active voice is used when the subject of a sentence is the one who does it. Sentences in the active voice are very direct and make it explicit exactly who performs a given action.
Because the subject performs an action on something, we mark this “something” with the direct object marker を.
私はバナナを食べている。I am eating a banana.
彼は家を建てた。He built a house.
私の弟は猫の尾を踏んだ。My little brother stepped on the cat’s tail.
Passive voice
The passive voice is used when the subject of a sentence does not personally “do” the verb but rather has the verb “done” to them - X is Y’d. Because what is done is more important than who does it, the subject does not need to be stated in passive sentences. This voice is more indirect than its active counterpart and can sometimes seem vague or wordy.
Just as English uses “by” to show who performed the action in question, Japanese uses に. When changing from an active to a passive sentence, を becomes は and は becomes に.
私はバナナを食べた。I ate the banana.
→ バナナは私に食べられた。The banana was eaten by me.
→ バナナは食べられた。The banana was eaten.
この家は約１００年前に建てられた。This house was built about 100 years ago.
* No subject is mentioned; we either don’t know or don’t care who built this house.
What is important is that the house was built and it is here.
The Sufferer Passive
The passive voice in Japanese works much like in English but has a further dimension, referred to as「迷惑の受け身」or the “sufferer passive”. As the word “sufferer” suggests, the passive voice in Japanese often conveys a nuance that you were negatively affected - caused to suffer - by the action in question.
猫の尾は私の弟に踏まれた。The cat’s tail was stepped on by my little brother
* Note how “my little brother” and “the cat’s tail” swap places.
It’s obvious that the cat, upon having it’s tail stepped on, suffered.
(私は) 彼に殴られた。I was hit by him.
Although it wouldn’t be grammatically incorrect to use the active 彼は私を殴った (he hit me), a Japanese person would probably use the passive case here and in similar situations. The active voice sounds indifferent -- it’s merely a statement -- but in this case, you are probably not indifferent. You were hit, you suffered from being hit, and will emphasize/communicate this suffering by using the “sufferer’s” passive voice.
私は奥さんに死なれて悲嘆に暮れている。 My wife died and my heart is broken.
* Why is the english translation in the active voice if the Japanese verb is passive? That’s because “to die” is an intransitive verb and, in English, intransitive verbs can’t be passive. This is a good example of 迷惑の受け身 - placing 死ぬ in the passive form changes this from an objective statement into one that emphasizes the fact that you suffered as a result of the action: “I was died on by my wife and I’m suffering”.
Type 1 verbs: Replace ～る with ～られる
Type 2 verbs: Add ～れる to the 未然形 verb stem. Just as with ない、this stem ends in ～あ.
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す ー 話される | 食べる ー 食べられる | する ー される |
| 聞く ー 聞かれる | *消える ー 消えられる | 来る ー 来られる（こられる） |
| 泳ぐ ー 泳がれる | *落ちる ー 落ちられる | |
| 呼ぶ ー 読まれる | 見る ー 見られる | |
| 飲む ー 飲まれる | *寝る ー 寝られる | |
| *死ぬ ー 死なれる | 答える ー 答えられる | |
| 作る ー 作られる | 出る ー 出られる | |
| 待つ ー 待たれる | 始める ー 始められる | |
| 払う ー 払われる | 決める ー 決められる |
* These words are a little complicated, so let’s look at them one by one.
死ぬ・消える・寝る are intransitive verbs. Intransitive verbs can not have an object, meaning they can not have a passive tense. The object of an active sentence becomes the subject of a passive one. We would not say I was died, I was disappeared or I was slept in English.
消える・寝る can not exist in the passive form. That being said, verbs can take ～られる to create a respectful or potential (able to…) form.
待たれる means something like “await” in English. （何かの）完成が待たれる carries a feeling of “looking forward to”; you’re (eagerly) awaiting the completion of something.
Causative voice
The causative voice is used when one thing is made or allowed to do something - to make X to Y. Japanese doesn’t distinguish between make/let as English does, but if someone is being allowed to do something, the causative form of a verb does tend to be followed by 「あげる」or「くれる」, a pair of verbs meaning “to give”.
Causative sentences look like this:
Commanderは Commandeeを 未然形（みぜんけい）stem verb + (さ)せる。
→ If the commandee is made to do something, this something is marked with を and the commandee instead takes に.
今日、仕事を休ませてくれました。( I ) was allowed to take the day off (by my boss).
→ It’s omitted, but there is an understood 社長は私に here.
料理をしたくなかったので、私は夫にピザを食べさせた。
I made/let my husband eat pizza because I didn’t want to cook.
→ If he’s happy to eat pizza, let. If he’s unhappy to eat pizza, made.
オオカミの遠吠えは背筋を凍らせた。The wolf’s howl sent a shiver down my spine.
→ The commander doesn’t need to be a person; it can be a situation, too.
私は子供たちを椅子に座らせた。I made the children sit down (on their chairs).
Type 1 verbs: Add ～せる to the 未然形 verb stem. Just as with ない、this stem ends in ～あ.
Type 2 verbs: Replace ～る with ～させる.
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す ー 話させる | 食べる ー 食べさせる | する ー させる |
| 聞く ー 聞かせる | *消える ー 消えさせる | 来る ー 来される（こされる） |
| 泳ぐ ー 泳がせる | *落ちる ー 落ちさせる | |
| 呼ぶ ー 読ませる | 見る ー 見させる | |
| 飲む ー 飲ませる | *寝る ー 寝させる | |
| *死ぬ ー 死なせる | 答える ー 答えさせる | |
| 作る ー 作らせる | 出る ー 出させる | |
| 待つ ー 待たせる | 始める ー 始めさせる | |
| 払う ー 払わせる | 決める ー 決めさせる |
Causative-Passive voice
The causative-passive voice is a mix of the causative and passive voice and means “to be made to do something”. This can be seen as an inversion of a causative sentence: He made me sing (causative) vs I was made to sing by him (causative-passive). Inverting the sentence like this changes the focus from the commander to the commandee. These sentences tend to carry a negative feeling. If you were made to do something then it means that you didn’t want to do it on your own accord.
Commandeeは Commanderに 未然形-stem verb + (さ)せられる / される
( 私は ) 先輩に蛙にキスさせられた。I was made to kiss a frog by my senpai.
学生たちはコーチに走らせられた。The students were made to run by the coach.
同僚の田中さんは社長に待たされた。My colleague, Tanaka, was made to wait by the boss.
→ 待たされた is an abbreviated version of 待たせられた。
Type 1 verbs: Add ～せられれる to the 未然形 verb stem. This stem ends in ～あ.
Type 2 verbs: Replace ～る with ～させられる.
| Type 1 (う) verbs | Type 2 (る) verbs | Irregular verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 話す ー 話させられる | 食べる ー 食べさせられる | する ー させられる |
| 聞く ー 聞かせられる | 消える ー 消えさせられる | 来る ー 来されられる （こされられる） |
| 泳ぐ ー 泳がせられる | 落ちる ー 落ちさせられる | |
| 呼ぶ ー 読ませられる | 見る ー 見させられる | |
| 飲む ー 飲ませられる | 寝る ー 寝させられる | |
| 死ぬ ー 死なせられる | 答える ー 答えさせられる | |
| 作る ー 作らせられる | 出る ー 出させられる | |
| 待つ ー 待たせられる | 始める ー 始めさせられる | |
| 払う ー 払わせられる | 決める ー 決めさせられる |