The ultra quick guide to Japanese verb conjugation: the past indicative
The past indicative mood is actions completed in the past (I ate, I worked etc) and also for the equivalent of the past perfect in English (I have eaten, I have worked etc)
| taberu | I ate, I have eaten |
| miru | I saw, I have seen |
How to conjugate the Japanese present indicative tense
| Class 1 / c-stem verbs | Positive | Negative | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain |
Change final syllable of past present
|
stem + anakatta | ||||||||||||
| Polite | change present tense "masu" to "mashita" | Polite present negative + deshita |
| Class 2 / v-stem verbs | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | stem + ta | stem + nakatta |
| Polite | Change present tense "masu" to "mashita" | Polite present negative + deshita |