For one of the groups I help out with on FB. Learn Japanese.

1. 鈴
花
COLOURFUL JAPANESE 3
Polite, past sentences
Réka Tóth Farkas, 2014

2. ABOUT THESE SLIDES [READ FIRST]
• Probably the best way to start learning Japanese is to copy and practice example
sentences by changing only one word or grammar at a time and understanding what
that changes compared to the original sentence. This will not only help you learn the
phonetic alphabets (and kanji) used in Japanese, but also help get a ‘feel’ for how
sentences are put together. The best way to do this is by hand.
• Each slide has simple example sentences are given in romanji, hiragana / katakana
and kanji (Chinese characters). It is a very good idea to start learning all three
characters used in the language as soon as possible as going back and learning
again is both tedious and horrendously tiring. Also, it is often much easier to remember
the words if you know the kanji!
• Also, Japanese does NOT USE SPACES BETWEEN WORDS in written form. The change
between words is also signified by a change in the type of character used (hiragana,
katakana, kanji). This is another important reason why you should learn all three types
of character as soon as possible in order to use the language properly.
• The parts of the sentences are all colour-coded (and with not correct, but more literal
translations) to help facilitate easier and faster comprehension from the reader and to
help memorization of sentence patterns.

3. 6 BASIC VERBS
• Verbs
Japanese is a conjugational language. This means that while there are not so
many root words (relatively speaking), there are many conjugations to learn in order to
express yourself properly in the language.
• We will be learning 6 basic verbs to go with each conjugation as we go along in these slides. These are
the following in their standard, or dictionary forms (never mind the verb classification for now):
•
•
•
•
•
•
行く
見る
食べる
飲む
来る
する
いく
みる
たべる
のむ
くる
する
iku
miru
taberu
nomu
kuru
suru
to go
to see
to eat
to drink
to come
to do
go-dan verb
ichi-dan verb
ichi-dan verb
go-dan verb
irregular
irregular

4. POLITE, PAST TENSE VERB
CONJUGATION
• ~ました
This conjugation is the first type many people learn. It is a past tense,
polite verb conjugation that you may use quite frequently. So it is very useful
• went
行く
いく
iku
→ 行きました
→ いきした
→ ikimashita
• saw
見る → 見した
みる → みした
miru → mimashita

5. POLITE, PAST TENSE VERB
CONJUGATION
• ate
食べる → 食べました
たべる → たべました
taberu → tabemashita
• drank
飲む → 飲みました
のむ → のみました
Nomu → nomimashita

6. POLITE, PAST TENSE VERB
CONJUGATION
• came
来る → 来ました
くる → きました
kuru → kimashita
• did
する → しました
する → しました
Suru → shimashita

7. NOTES
• Note The last syllable of the verb will change to end with ‘i’ and then
continue with ~mashita if the verb is a go-dan verb. If the verb is an
ichi-ban verb, it will simply drop the ‘ru’ and change this for the
~mashita.
• Note There are only two irregular verbs (suru and kuru), so these are
simple to remember.

8. PRACTICE ・練習
れんしゅう
RENSHUU
• Now it is your turn to further your own progress.
• The next step is to use the words and sentence patterns to change the
sentences we saw before to make new ones.
• Use some of the words in the following, vocabulary slide in order to make
things more interesting.
• Make sure that when you make new sentences that you are always thinking
of what the new sentence actually means.
• Post your sentences to have them checked by you fellow learners and Learn
Japanese admin! 

9. PRACTICE・練習
れんしゅう
RENSHUU
私は学校へ行きました。
わたしはがっこうへいきました。
watashi wa gakkou e ikimashita.
I went to school.
あなたは学校 に来ました。
あなたはがっこうにきました。
anata wa gakkou ni kimashita
You went to school.
猫は魚を食べました。
ねこはさかなをたべました。
neko wa sakana wo tebemashita.
(The) cat ate fish.

10. PRACTICE・練習
れんしゅう
RENSHUU
今日、犬は水を飲みました。
きょう、いぬはみずをのみました。
kyou, inu wa mizu wo nominashita.
Today, (the) dog drank water.
私は友達とテニスをしました。
わたしはともだちとテニスをしました。
watashi wa tomodaci to tenisu wo shimashita.
I played tennis with a friend(s).
母さんはショッピングに行きました。
かあさんはショッピングにいきました。
kaasan wa shopping ni ikimashita.
Mum went shopping.

11. PRACTICE・練習
れんしゅう
RENSHUU
お父さんは仕事へ来ましたか。
おとうさんは しごとへきましたか。
otousan wa shigoto e kimashita ka.
Did Father came to work?
先生はごはんを食べましたか。
せんせいはごはんをたべましたか。
sensei wa gohan wo tabemashita ka.
Did Teacher eat (the) meal?
今日、生徒は勉強をしましたか。
きょう、せいとはべにょうをしました。
kyou, seito wa benkyou wo shimashita.
Today, (the) student did study.