Japanese conjugation guide

Present (Non-Past) Indicative

Learn how Japanese verbs express present, habitual and future meaning in plain and polite forms.

What does “non-past” mean?

Japanese does not distinguish present and future tense in the same way as English. The non-past form can describe something happening now, a regular or habitual action, a general fact, or a future intention. The intended time is usually clear from context.

One form, several English translations

The plain positive non-past form is the same as the dictionary form for both regular verb classes.

Japanese verb Possible English meanings
行く iku I go, you go, they go, he or she goes; I will go, they will go, and so on.
見る miru I see, you see, they see, he or she sees; I will see, they will see, and so on.

How to form the present indicative

Choose the pattern for the verb’s class, then select plain or polite and positive or negative.

Class 1

Godan or consonant-stem verbs

For the plain negative, change the final kana to its corresponding a-row sound and add ない (nai). For polite forms, use the masu stem.

Style
Positive
Negative
Plain
Dictionary form
a-row + nai
Polite
masu stem + masu
masu stem + masen
Verbs ending in う change to わ before ない: 買う → 買わない (kau → kawanai).
Class 2

Ichidan or vowel-stem verbs

Remove the final る (ru) from the dictionary form to obtain the stem, then add the required ending.

Style
Positive
Negative
Plain
Dictionary form
Stem + nai
Polite
Stem + masu
Stem + masen
Example: 食べる → 食べない → 食べます → 食べません
taberu → tabenai → tabemasu → tabemasen

Example sentences

See the non-past form used in real Japanese sentences with English translations.

When the weather is nice I go to the parkTenki ga ii to, koen ni ikimasu
Kuruma ga arimasen keredomo, unten dekimasuI don't have a car but I can drive
Rokuji made ni denwa ga dekimasu ka?Will you be able to phone by 6 o clock?
Dekiru kagari, doryoku shimasuI will try as much as is possible
I phoned instead of goingiku kawari ni denwa o shimashita
View more present indicative examples