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).

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)

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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