Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 4: 8/13

う-Verb (Past)う - Verbs (Past tense)

Structure

Examples:
[る5]Verb(すわ) + った
[う]Verb(うた) + った
[つ]Verb() + った

[く]Verb(ある) + いた
[ぐ]Verb(およ) + いだ

[ぬ]Verb() + んだ
[ぶ]Verb() + んだ
[む]Verb(やす) + んだ

[す]Verb(はな) + した

Exceptions:
()く → ()った
するした
くるきた
()う → ()うた
()う → ()うた

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Verb

  • Word Type

    Auxiliary Verb

  • Register

    Standard

About う-Verb (Past)

To make the past form of a う-Verb in Japanese, just like all other conjugations of う-Verbs, you will need to change the last kana, before adding the auxiliary verb た (casual), or ました (polite). This change in kana is a bit different to other conjugations of う-Verbs, so let's take a look at them for the casual form.

As can be seen in these examples, the changes consist of った, いた, いだ, んだ, した (the same as the changes for て form, but using た instead). For the conjugations using だ in place of た, this is simply a sound change in the language that happened over the course of history, to make words easier/smoother to say. It is not the auxiliary verb .

For the polite past form of う-Verbs, the change in sound is far more consistent. This only requires a change from the う sound, to the い sound within the same column (from う to い, or from く to き, for example).

When た is added to verbs (or any other word), it can have one of three possible meanings.

Past: 過去(かこ) - Happened at some point in the past. (Did/Was)

Completion: 完了(かんりょう) - An action that has finished 'happening'. (Done)

Continuation: 存続(そんぞく) - A new state of something that is continuing. (Has been done)

Caution

With う-Verbs, there are a few verbs that are exceptions to the regular conjugation rules. Please check the structure guide for these.


Antonyms



Examples

--:--

    昨日(きのう)(ほん)()んだ
    昨日(きのう)(ほん)()みました

    I read a book yesterday.

    牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)()んだ
    牛乳(ぎゅうにゅう)()みました

    I drank milk.

    ロンドン()んだ
    ロンドン()びました

    I flew to London.

    (わたし)たちチーム()った
    (わたし)たちチーム()ちました

    Our team won!

    メアリー日本(にほん)(かえ)った
    メアリー日本(にほん)(かえ)りました

    Mary returned to Japan.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

う-Verb (Past) – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (24 in total)

  • DDSmith1999

    DDSmith1999

    I’m glad to see I’m not the only one getting whooped by this card. I haven’t progressed on anything new to learn because I really want to hammer this out before I take on new cards.

  • BreadmanNin

    BreadmanNin

    Should it help anyone, there’s a simple but effective ta-conjugation practice tool here: Past Form Practice | Steven Kraft

  • nadoles

    nadoles

    For anyone who struggles with memorizing all the conjugations for this grammar point, put this song on loop until you just absorb everything: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh8SWMYBeus. It’s the most effortless way to learn them.

Got questions about う-Verb (Past)? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

Join the Discussion