polite past tense

Beginner

10-15 min

very common

Expert Reviewed

Explanation

Polite past tense form of verbs.

[Verb stem] + ました

昨日行きました。

Kinou ikimashita.

I went yesterday.

テレビを見ました。

Terebi wo mimashita.

I watched TV.

Remember to change the verb stem before adding ました.

ます (masu)

polite present/future tense

ません (masen)

polite negative present/future

です/だ

to be (copula)

は (wa)

topic marker

が (ga)

subject marker

を (wo)

direct object marker

Practice describing what you did yesterday: 昨日テレビを見ました。昨日寿司を食べました。

JLPTBooks Editorial Team

Japanese Language Education Specialists

Last updated: Jan 15

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