In order to make the negative past form of
う-Verbs, you will need to change the last kana of the verb into the あ sound kana from the same column (or わ if the original kana was う). After this, the あ sound kana will be followed by
ない (or ます), conjugated into their past forms. This will either be
なかった (casual), or
ませんでした (polite). The negative past form is used to convey that something ‘did not happen’, or ‘was not’.
-
私(わたし)は公園(こうえん)で遊(あそ)ばなかった。
I did not play at the park.
-
あなたの車(くるま)は洗(あら)わなかった。
I did not wash your car.
-
そこに置(お)きませんでした。
I did not place it there.
-
そこには本(ほん)がありませんでした。
The book was not over there.
A semi-polite form may also be used. This is constructed by using
なかった, and then simply adding
です. This form is not grammatically correct, but is so common that most sources (and native speakers) would consider it correct.
ある is an exception to the regular conjugation rules of
う-Verbs. The casual past-negative is not あらなかった, but simply
なかった. However, the polite past-negative form conjugates in the same way as would be expected for う-Verbs.
ありませんでした.