Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 5: 9/12

～て (Conjunction)And, Then (Linking events)

ている is often shortened to てる. This applies to all tenses, including てる, てて, てた, and even てます

Structure

Examples:
［る1］Verb ￫ 見(み)る + て

［る5］Verb ￫ 座(すわ)る + って
［う］Verb ￫ 歌(うた)う + って
［つ］Verb ￫ 打(う)つ + って

［く］Verb ￫ 歩(ある)く + いて
［ぐ］Verb ￫ 泳(およ)ぐ + いで

［ぬ］Verb ￫ 死(し)ぬ + んで
［ぶ］Verb ￫ 飛(と)ぶ + んで
［む］Verb ￫ 休(やす)む + んで

［す］Verb ￫ 話(はな)す + して

Exceptions:
行(い)く ￫ 行(い)って
する ￫ して
くる ￫ きて
問(と)う ￫ 問(と)うて
請(こ)う ￫ 請(こ)うて

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Verb

  • Word Type

    Conjunctive Particle

  • Register

    Standard

About Verb + て

In Japanese, て is a very important conjunction particle that can be used with many different structures. When it is partnered with a verb, it has special conjugation rules, depending on whether it is being added to a る-Verb or a う-Verb. In the case of う-Verbs, it also depends on what the preceding kana is.

The most common translation in any situation is just 'and' or 'then', due to (B) being highlighted as something that happens/happened after (A).

In these examples, we can see that て basically means '(A) て (B)' = '(A) happened, then (B)'. However, this is only when it is linked to another verb.

Sometimes the て form appears as で. This is a change that happened throughout the course of history, in order to make sentences flow more smoothly. Despite this, there is no difference in meaning between て and で as a vocal change.

The easiest way to identify whether to use て or で is by looking at the preceding kana. If the plain (dictionary) form of the verb finishes in ぐ, ぬ, ぶ, or む, then で will be used. る-Verbs never use で.

Caution

There are several irregular verbs when it comes to て form conjugation. Let's look at an example of each one.

  • 学校(がっこう)に行(い)って勉強(べんきょう)をする。
    I go to school, then study. (行(い)く's conjugation with て)
  • ダイエットをして痩(や)せる。
    To go on a diet, then lose weight. (する's conjugation with て)
  • 公園(こうえん)に来(き)て遊(あそ)ぶ。
    To come to the park, then play. (来(く)る's conjugation with て)
  • 答(こた)えを問(と)うて書(か)く。
    To enquire about the answer, then write it down. (問(と)う's conjugation with て)
  • 許可(きょか)を請(こ)うて実行(じっこう)する。
    To get permission, then act out. (請(こ)う's conjugation with て)

Apart from these 5 verbs, the rules for て form conjugation are 100% consistent.

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

    （食(た)べる）→ 食(た)べて

    To eat → To eat and then.

    （洗(あら)う）→ 洗(あら)って

    To wash → To wash and then.

    （返(かえ)す）→ 返(かえ)して

    To return (an object) → To return (an object) and then.

    （歩(ある)く）→ 歩(ある)いて

    To walk → To walk and then.

    （泳(およ)ぐ）→ 泳(およ)いで

    To swim → To swim and then.

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Verb + て – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (41 in total)

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    Some points:

    • In English, “to remember” can express both “to commit something to memory” and “to recall something from memory”. 覚える can’t do that, it can only cover the “commit” part. For “recall”, you could use 思い出す.
    • Similarly, -てみる means “try” in the “try it and see” kind of sense. Do something and see how it goes. It doesn’t express a conscious effort to achieve something. For that, you could use the volitional + とする construction.
    • The comma after 昨日 looks weird because it makes it seem like the 昨日 applies to the entire sentence.
  • RezoneH

    RezoneH

    Thank you very very much for your reply.

    If I have learned this issue incorrectly or incompletely, I would like you to correct me. I know that “てみる” is “used in situations where you are not sure whether you will be successful in doing an action.” am I wrong? and in ...

  • additionalramen

    additionalramen

    Why do the reviews for this grammar point use fragment sentences?

    For example, review sentences include:

    • “To eat and then.”
    • “To wash and then.”
    • “To walk and then.”

    As an English speaker, these sentences are confusing because they’re incomplete, and since these are the sentences I see in my reviews, I feel like I’m not really reviewing how this particle is used in real life.

    Are these considered complete sentences in Japanese? Or is Bunpro showing us fragment sentences on purpose? If that is the case, why?

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