行く・
The four plain forms of a verb: do, don't, did, didn't. Friends talk in them, and they are what a verb looks like in the middle of a longer sentence, even a polite one.
inside a polite sentence
This is the book I bought yesterday.
The four forms
行く・行かない・行った・行かなかった
Go, don't go, went, didn't go. 行く is the dictionary form, the one you look up.
| Plain | Polite | |
|---|---|---|
| do, will do | 行く | 行きます |
| don't, won't | 行かない | 行きません |
| did | 行った | 行きました |
| didn't | 行かなかった | 行きませんでした |
I drink coffee every morning.
I will not drink coffee today.
I drank coffee yesterday.
I did not drink coffee yesterday.
Two kinds of verb
How a verb changes depends on its kind. Ichidan verbs (る-verbs) end in る with an i or e sound before it: 食べる, 見る. Only the る changes. The rest are godan verbs (う-verbs), and their last kana changes. する and 来る are the two irregular verbs. Some textbooks number the kinds instead: godan is Group 1, ichidan Group 2.
A few common verbs look ichidan and are godan: 帰る, 入る, 走る, 知る, 切る. So it is 帰らない and 帰った.
Don't and didn't: ない, なかった
| Verb | Change | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ichidan | る → ない | 食べる → 食べない |
| Godan | Last kana to its あ sound, then ない: く → か, む → ま. But う → わ | 書く → 書かない, 飲む → 飲まない, 買う → 買わない |
| する, 来る | Irregular | しない, 来ない |
For "didn't", ない becomes なかった: 書かなかった, 食べなかった. One verb goes its own way: the negative of ある is just ない.
Did: た
| The verb ends in | Past | Like this |
|---|---|---|
| Ichidan: る | た | 食べる → 食べた, 見る → 見た |
| Godan: う, つ, る | った | 買う → 買った, 待つ → 待った, 作る → 作った |
| Godan: む, ぶ, ぬ | んだ | 読む → 読んだ, 遊ぶ → 遊んだ, 死ぬ → 死んだ |
| Godan: く | いた | 書く → 書いた. But 行く → 行った |
| Godan: ぐ | いだ | 泳ぐ → 泳いだ |
| Godan: す | した | 話す → 話した |
| する, 来る | した, 来た | 勉強する → 勉強した |
行く is the only everyday verb that breaks its row.
来る is read differently in each form: 来ない, 来た, 来なかった.
The て-form is made with the same changes, with て in place of た and で in place of だ: 書いて, 読んで.
Where you'll meet them
At the end of a sentence, they are how people talk to family and friends, and how diaries, novels and newspapers are written.
My father gets up at six every morning.
I did not buy anything yesterday.
I will go to the station tomorrow.
Like 行きます, 行く is "go" or "will go". There is no separate future form.
Inside a sentence they aren't casual at all. In front of a noun the verb is normally plain, and the end of the sentence sets the style.
This is a cake my mother made.
A polite sentence: it ends in です.
Many endings are built on them too: 行かないでください (please don't go), 行ったことがあります (I have been), 行くつもりです (I plan to go).
Close neighbours
The same four forms in polite style.
I watched that movie yesterday.
行く・行きますN5
When to end a sentence plainly and when politely.
Are you going to watch a movie tomorrow?
Said to a friend.
て-formN5
The て-form joins a verb to what comes next.
My mother went to the supermarket and bought vegetables.
昨日買った本N5
A plain verb in front of a noun describes it: "the book I bought".
The movie I watched yesterday was very interesting.
Check yourself
1Which one fits?
昨日は
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
今日は
Choose an answer to see why.
3Is this sentence polite or plain?
これは
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
Coming from ます
If you learned ます forms first: an e sound before ます means ichidan, so 食べます → 食べる. An i sound usually means godan, 書きます → 書く, but some everyday ichidan verbs have it too: 見ます, 起きます, 借ります, います, できます.
More sentences
I cook at home on weekends.
It did not rain.