How to form basic present and past verbs in Japanese

To form basic present and past verbs in Japanese, the approach depends on whether the verbs are informal (plain) or formal (polite) and on the type of verb.

Present Tense Verb Formation

• The basic present tense in Japanese is often called “non-past” because it can express both present and future actions.
• Informal verbs typically end with “u” sounds like のむ (nomu, to drink).
• Formal verbs end with ます (masu), e.g., 飲みます (nomimasu, drink).
• The verb stem is used before the suffix ます in formal situations, e.g., 飲み (nomi-) + ます.

Past Tense Verb Formation

• Informal past tense verbs typically end with た (ta) or variations like った (tta), だ (da), depending on the verb.
• For example, the informal past of 飲む is 飲んだ (nonda, drank).
• Formal past tense adds ました (mashita) to the verb stem, e.g., 飲みました (nomimashita) for “drank” formally.

Verb Group Differences

• Ru-verbs (る verbs) form past by replacing る with た, like 食べる (taberu, to eat) becomes 食べた (tabeta).
• U-verbs (う verbs) follow different patterns, for example, 書く (kaku, to write) becomes 書いた (kaita).

Examples

• Drink:
  • Informal present: 飲む (nomu)
  • Formal present: 飲みます (nomimasu)
  • Informal past: 飲んだ (nonda)
  • Formal past: 飲みました (nomimashita)
• Eat:
  • Informal present: 食べる (taberu)
  • Formal present: 食べます (tabemasu)
  • Informal past: 食べた (tabeta)
  • Formal past: 食べました (tabemashita)

This covers the basics of forming present and past tense verbs in Japanese for common verb types and forms.

References

• Japanese Tenses: Expressing the Past, Present, and Future

• Verb Plain Present る Form

• Japanese Past Tense: How to Use It Correctly + Examples

• The ULTIMATE Japanese Verb Conjugation CHEAT SHEET

• Japanese Verb Plain Past た Form

• Japanese Verbs: U-verbs, Ru-verbs and Conjugation

• Past Tense – Learn Japanese

• Making the Plain Past Form for Japanese verbs

• Japanese conjugation

• Master Japanese Verb Conjugation in One Article