Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 4: 7/13

る-Verb (Past)

る - Verbs (Past tense)

Structure

Examples:
​​食(た)べる + た
​​見(み)る + た
​​寝(ね)る + た

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Verb

  • Word Type

    Auxiliary Verb

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    動詞

  • 単語の種類

    助動詞

  • 使用域

    一般

About る-Verb (Past)

To make the past form of a る-Verb in Japanese, just like all other conjugations of る-Verbs, you will need to remove the る first. After this, all you need to do is add the auxiliary verb た (casual), or ました (polite).
  • ドアを開(あ)ける。
    I open the door
  • ドアを開(あ)けた。
    I opened the door.
  • ドアを開(あ)けました。
    I opened the door.
Fun Fact
ました is actually just ます conjugated with た on the end of it, so it is two (2) auxiliary verbs, not just one. This means that only た gives the meaning of 'past' to a word, while ます keeps it's regular role of making the verb more polite.
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)
  • たかしは1994年(ねん)に生(う)まれた。
    Takashi was born in 1994. (An example of past)
  • 今朝(けさ)、テストを受(う)けた。
    I took the test this morning. (An example of completion)
  • 彼(かれ)の名前(なまえ)を忘(わす)れた。
    I forgot his name, and still can't remember. (An example of continuation)

Examples

  • 昨日(きのう)、テレビを見(み)た。
    昨日(きのう)、テレビを見(み)ました。

    I watched TV yesterday.

  • 日本(にっぽん)で寿司(すし)を食(た)べた。
    日本(にっぽん)で寿司(すし)を食(た)べました。

    I ate sushi in Japan.

  • ひらがなとカタカナを覚(おぼ)えた。
    ひらがなとカタカナを覚(おぼ)えました。

    I remembered hiragana and katakana.

  • 彼女(かのじょ)はリンクと別(わか)れた。
    彼女(かのじょ)はリンクと別(わか)れました。

    She broke up with Link.

  • シャワーを浴(あ)びた。
    シャワーを浴(あ)びました。

    I took a shower.

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