N5 Grammar – Non-Past Verbs

by Clayton MacKnight

Welcome everyone, this is Mac with another N5 Grammar Lesson from JLPT Boot Camp. Last episode, we learned about the uses of the が particle. Today, we are going to learn how to talk about the non-past form, which can refer to the present or future. We are going to look at a few, very short exchanges. Let’s give it a try.

Conversation 1 (0:22)

Matt and Yu are talking about their hobbies.

Yu: 本を　読よむの。
Honwo yomuno.
Do you read books?

Matt: ええ、読よむ。
Ee, yomu.
I do.

Breaking that down, Yu says 本ほん, book, を, the object marking particle, then 読よむ, the casual non-past form of ‘to read’, and finally の, a particle used to mark a question in casual speech. All together, she is asking “Do you read books?”

Matt responds with ええ, yes, and then 読よむ, the casual non-past form of ‘to read’. So he is replying with “Yes, (I) read.”

And Matt and Yu are using the non-past casual form. This is the form you see in most Japanese dictionaries, so you might hear it called the dictionary form or it is sometimes called the plain form. It is considered casual, so you will hear it often among friends. Since it is casual, it’s best to not use it in any kind of business situation or with anyone older than you.

Let’s try it once. Can you say “I have a car.”?

Remember that I is わたし, to have, in this situation, is ある, and car is 車くるま.

わたしは　車くるまが　ある。
Watashiwa kurumaga aru.
I have a car.

Pretty easy. You actually don’t need to make any changes to the verb from its dictionary form, just use it as is.

Conversation 2 (2:17)

Yu has one more question for Matt.

Yu: J-popを　聞きくの。
Jepoppuwo kikuno.
Do you listen to J-pop?

Matt: いえ、聞きかない。
Ie, kikanai.
No, I don’t.

Breaking that down, Yu says J-pop, Japanese pop music, を, the object marking particle, 聞きく, to listen, and then の, the casual question marking particle. All together she is asking “Do you listen to J-pop?”

Matt responds with いえ, no, and 聞きかない, don’t listen. All together he is saying “No, (I) don’t listen (to J-pop)”.

Here, Matt made use of the non-past negative casual form. This is slightly more difficult to form than the affirmative. How we conjugate depends on what kind of verb it is. If it is one of the most common verbs, a group 1 verb or godan verb, we need to change the last kana to one that ends in あ. For example, for the verb 飲む, to drink, we change む to ま. Then, we add ない. All together, we have 飲のまない.

Let’s give it a try, can you say “(I) don’t go.” “To go” is 行いく in Japanese.

To form this we first change the last kana く to か and then add ない. Altogether, we have:

行いかない
ikanai
don’t go

Yeah, exactly! For bonus points, how about “I don’t go to the company on Saturday.”?

I in Japanese is わたし, company is 会社かいしゃ, and Saturday is どようび.

わたしは　土どよう日び　会社かいしゃに　行いかない。
Watashiwa doyoubi kaishani ikanai.
I don’t go to (my) company on Saturday.

Breaking that down, わたし, I, は, the topic marking particle, どようび, Saturday, 会社かいしゃ, company, に, a particle used to mark a location we are traveling to, and 行いかない, not go.

For group 2 verbs, also called ichidan verbs, we simply need to cut off the final kana and add ない. By the way, if you were wondering how to tell the difference between group 1 and group 2. The second to last kana of group 2 verbs usually ends with え or い like 食たべる, to eat, or おりる, to get off (the train).

Obviously, there are some exceptions to this, but this will give you a general idea of what verbs are group 2.

Can you give it a try? Can you say “don’t eat”?

食たべない
tabenai
don’t eat

Exactly! Take the final kana る off and add ない. For bonus points, can you say “(I) don’t eat at McDonald’s”?

And McDonald’s in Japanese is マクドナルド.

わたしは　マクドナルドで　食たべない。
Watashiwa makudonarudode tabenai.
I don’t eat at McDonald’s.

Now, group 3 verbs are irregular. Don’t worry though, Japanese only has two irregular verbs -する, to do, and 来くる, to come. する becomes しない in the negative form, and 来くる becomes 来こない in the negative form. Let’s try it once. Can you say “don’t study”?

To study in Japanese is a する-verb, which means it is a noun that when used with する becomes a verb. So, “to study” is べんきょうする. Can you change the dictionary form into the negative non-past form?

べんきょう　しない
benkyou shinai
don’t study

Okay, maybe you shouldn’t say that so often. I hope you study a lot, especially these conjugations. You should drill them often so that you are comfortable with them and use them automatically.

Conversation 3 (7:08)

Let’s go back to Matt and his co-worker. The next day, Matt’s co-worker asks about his hobbies as well.

Co-worker: 日本語にほんごを　べんきょうしますか。
Nihongowo benkyoushimasuka.
Do you study Japanese?

Matt: はい、毎日まいにち　べんきょうします。
Hai, mainichi benkyoushimasu.
Yes, I study every day.

Breaking that down, Matt’s co-worker says 日本語にほんご, Japanese, を, the object marking particle, べんきょうします, study, and finally か, the question marking particle. All together she is asking “Do (you) study Japanese?”

Matt responds with はい, yes, 毎日まいにち, every day, and finally べんきょうします, study. All together, he is saying “(I) study every day.”

Matt and his co-worker are using the polite present tense here, sometimes called the ます form. Like the casual negative form, how you form this depends on what kind of verb it is.

For group 1 / godan verbs, you need to change the final kana to the い row of kana and add ます. For example, if you want to say I drink, we can take the dictionary form of ‘to drink’ in Japanese, 飲のむ, change the final kana to み and add ます – 飲のみます.

Can you try it now with 行いく, to go?

行いきます
ikimasu
go (polite)

Right, we changed the final kana く to き and added ます.

How about saying “I sometimes go to a movie”? Sometimes in Japanese is ときどき, and movie is えいが.

わたしは　ときどき　えいがに　行いきます。
Watashiwa tokidoki eigani ikimasu.
I sometimes go to the movies.

Good work! Now, with group 2 or ichidan verbs, we just need to take the る off the end and add ます. Remember that the second to last kana of group 2 verbs tend to end with a kana from the え row, like 食たべる, to eat or the い row like おりる, to get off (the train).

Let’s give it a try with ねる, to sleep. Can you tell me the polite non-past form?

ねます
nemasu
sleep

Right! For bonus points, can you say “(I) sleep at 10 every day?” 10 o’clock in Japanese is じゅうじand every day in Japanese is まいにち.

毎日まいにち　10時じに　ねます。
Mainichi jyuujini nemasu.
I go to sleep at 10 every day.

Exactly! The final group of verbs of course are group 3 verbs – する, to do, and 来くる, to come. する becomes します, while 来くる becomes 来きます.

Let’s try it with these. Can you say “(My) friend comes.”? Friend in Japanese is ともだち.

ともだちが　来きます。
Tomodachiga kimasu.
(My) friend [comes / is coming].

Excellent! And we used the が particle there to mark exhaustively the person that will come, my friend.

Conversation 4 (10:49)

Let’s go back to our conversation with Matt and his co-worker. She has one more question about his hobbies.

Co-worker: ビールを　飲のみますか。
Biiruwo nomimasuka.
Do you drink beer?

Matt: いえ、飲のみません。
Ie, nomimasen.
No, I don’t drink.

Co-worker: ほんとうですか。　なぜですか。
Hontoudesuka. Nazedesuka.
Really? Why?

Breaking that down, ビール, beer, を, the object marking particle, 飲のみます, the polite form of 飲のむ, to drink, and finally か, the question marking particle. All together Matt’s co-worker is asking “Do drink beer?”

Matt responds with いえ, no, and 飲のみません, the polite present negative form of 飲のむ, to drink. So, all together, he is saying “No, I don’t drink.”

And his co-worker responds with ほんとう, really, です, the copula, and finally か, the question marker. Then asks なぜ, why, です, the copula, and finally another か, the question marking particle. All together she is asking “Really? Why?”

Here, Matt used the negative form, which is pretty easy to form. All you have to do is add ません instead of ます. For example, with 話はなす, the polite affirmative form is 話はなします, the negative would be 話はなしません. Can you try it with the group 1 verb 行いく, to go?

行いきません
ikimasen
don’t go (polite)

Right! Can you say “(I) am not going to school tomorrow.”? School is 学校, and tomorrow in Japanese is あした.

あした　学校がっこうへ　行いきません。
Ashita gakkouhe ikimasen.
(I) am not going to school tomorrow.

You got it! Let’s review what we learned with a quick pop quiz. I’ll give you the English. Can you give me the Japanese?

Pop Quiz (13:02)

First one,

I don’t smoke.　(casual)

A quick hint, “to smoke” in Japanese is “タバコを　すう”. すう can mean “to suck” or “to breathe in” so literally you are sucking on tobacco or breathing in tobacco.

Answer:

わたしは　タバコを　すわない。
Watashiwa tabakowo suwanai.

“I don’t smoke.” in Japanese would be “わたしは　タバコを　すわない。”Breaking that down, we have わたし, I, は, the topic marking particle, タバコ, tobacco or cigarettes, を, the object marking particle and finally すわない, the negative non-past form of すう, to smoke.

I drink alcohol. (casual)

A quick hint, alcohol is おさけ in Japanese.

Answer:

わたしは　おさけを　飲のむ。
Watashiwa osakewo nomu.

“I drink alcohol.” in Japanese would be “わたしは　おさけを　飲む。” Breaking that down, we have わたし, I, は, the topic marking particle, おさけ, alcohol, を, the object marking particle, and finally 飲のむ, to drink.

I run every morning. (polite)

‘To run’ in Japanese is はしる.

Answer:

まいあさ　わたしは　はしります。
Maiasa watashiwa hashirimasu.

“I run every morning.” in polite Japanese, would be “まいあさ　わたしは　はしります。”Breaking that down, we have まいあさ, every morning, わたし, I, は, the topic marking particle, はしります, the polite non-past form of はしる, to run.

One last one,

I don’t study on Saturdays. (polite)

Answer:

土よう日に　べんきょう　しません。
doyoubini benkyou shimasen

“I don’t study on Sundays” in polite Japanese, would be “土どよう日びに　べんきょう　しません。” Breaking that down, we have 土どよう日び, Sunday, に, particle marking times or locations, and finally べんきょう　しません, the polite negative non-past form of べんきょうする, to study.

Review

This lesson we went over how to form the present tense in both casual and polite forms. For the casual form, the affirmative is simply the plain or dictionary form of the word. For the negative form, how you conjugate the verb depends on what kind of verb it is. For group 1, you shift the final kana to the あrow of kana and add ない. For group 2, you remove the last kana and simply add ない. While for group 3, you have しない for する, to do and 来こない for 来くる, to come.

For the polite form, you have to conjugate the verb differently depending on what type it is as well. If it is group 1, change the final kana to the い row of kana and then add ます. For group 2, cut the final kana off and add ます. Then for the last group, group 3, you have します for する, to do, and 来きます for 来くる, to come. Forming the negative is quite simple, just add ません instead of ます.

That’s it for this episode. For notes and more practice with the grammar point, stop by the JLPT Boot Camp courses site. There you can find quizzes, study guides for this grammar point and every grammar point covered in the videos. You can also get all of your questions answered you might have. Just leave me a comment, and I’ll get back to you.

The JLPT Study Guide for the N5 is now available at Amazon. Packed with exercises to help you master all the grammar points needed for the test, this is a must have study guide for anyone preparing for the N5. It also has reading and listening strategies and practice exercises so you can hone those skills before the exam. Once you’ve finished the book, there are 3 practice tests to check your level and 100s of audio flashcards you can use anywhere to review what you learned.