Grammar Info
N5 Lesson 4: 7/13

る-Verb (Past)
る - Verbs (past tense)

Structure
Casual
Polite
Examples:
​​食べ +
​​見 +
​​寝 +
Examples:
食べ + ました
+ ました
+ ました
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
Information
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).
  • ドア開(あ)け
    I open the door
  • ドア開(あ)け
    I opened the door.
  • ドア開(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 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.
過去(かこ) - Happened at some point in the past. (Did/Was)
完了(かんりょう) - An action that has finished ‘happening’. (Done)
存続(そんぞく) - A new state of something that is continuing. (Has been done)
  • たかし1994年(ねん)生(う)まれ
    Takashi was born in 1994. (An example of 過去(かこ))
  • 今朝(けさ)、テスト受(う)け
    I took the test this morning. (An example of 完了(かんりょう))
  • 彼(かれ)名前(なまえ)忘(わす)れ
    I forgot his name, and still can’t remember. (An example of 存続(そんぞく))
Slow Male
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昨日(きのう)テレビ見(み)た
昨日(きのう)テレビ見(み)ました
I watched TV yesterday.
Play  
日本(にっぽん)寿司(すし)食(た)べた
日本(にっぽん)寿司(すし)食(た)べました
I ate sushi in Japan.
Play  
ひらがなカタカナ覚(おぼ)えた
ひらがなカタカナ覚(おぼ)えました
I remembered hiragana and katakana.
Play  
Books
Try N5
Page 39
Try N5
Page 88
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 50
Genki I
Page 79 & 174
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 87
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 110
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 212
みんなの日本語 I, Translation & Grammatical Notes
Page 34 & 124