て-formand; the joining form
The て-form is a verb or adjective that says "and": more is coming. It joins actions, joins descriptions, and is the base that ている, てください and many other forms are built on.
actions in order
Every morning, I get up at six, wash my face, and eat breakfast.
Ichidan verbs (る-verbs)
る → て
食べる → 食べて, 見る → 見て
Godan verbs (う-verbs)
う・つ・る → って む・ぶ・ぬ → んで く → いて ぐ → いで す → して
By the last syllable of the dictionary form: 買う → 買って, 読む → 読んで. One everyday verb breaks the rule: 行く → 行って.
The two irregular verbs
する → して 来る → 来て
Adjectives and nouns
い → くて な-adjective or noun + で
安い → 安くて, 静か → 静かで, 学生 → 学生で. いい is よくて.
Godan verbs, ending by ending
| The verb ends in | て-form | Like this |
|---|---|---|
| う, つ, る | って | 買う → 買って, 待つ → 待って, 作る → 作って |
| む, ぶ, ぬ | んで | 読む → 読んで, 遊ぶ → 遊んで, 死ぬ → 死んで |
| く | いて | 書く → 書いて. But 行く → 行って |
| ぐ | いで | 泳ぐ → 泳いで |
| す | して | 話す → 話して |
The five godan changes go in most easily as a chant, said in that order. ぐ keeps its two dots: いで. A verb's plain past is made the same way, with た in place of て and だ in place of で: 買って and 買った, 読んで and 読んだ.
Is a verb in る ichidan or godan?
Only a verb that ends in る can be ichidan. Leaving する and 来る aside, a verb with an a, u or o sound before る is godan: 終わる, 作る and 乗る all take って. After an i or e sound it is usually ichidan, like 食べる and 見る. A few everyday verbs are godan all the same:
帰る → 帰って, 入る → 入って, 走る → 走って, 知る → 知って, and 切る (to cut) → 切って, though 着る (to wear) → 着て.
Adjectives: きれい and 有名
きれい and 有名 end in い, but they are な-adjectives, so they take で.
Not said: この
(This park is pretty and big.)
きれいで、広いです.
The negative: なくて and ないで
ない changes like an い-adjective: 安くない → 安くなくて. A verb has a second negative as well, ないで. 行かない gives 行かなくて and 行かないで, and what follows decides which.
Please don't smoke here.
ないで before ください: please don't.
I went to school without eating breakfast.
ないで before another action: without doing.
You don't have to come tomorrow.
なくて before もいい: don't have to.
Joining actions
The て-form says "and". Any number of actions can be joined, normally in the order they happen, and every verb but the last is in the て-form.
I went home, did my homework, and went to bed.
Please write your name on this paper and put it in the box.
ください covers both actions.
It has no tense and no politeness of its own. The end of the sentence carries both.
I go to the library and borrow a book.
借ります, so 行って is "go".
I went to the library and borrowed a book.
借りました, so 行って is "went".
行ってきます, said on leaving home, is two verbs joined this way: "I'll go and come back".
I'm off. See you later.
と is for nouns
English "and" joins anything. と joins nouns only. After a verb or an adjective, "and" is the て-form.
I had bread and eggs this morning.
Two nouns: と.
This morning I ate some bread and drank coffee.
Two actions: the て-form.
Joining descriptions
Here nothing happens first: both things are simply true. After a noun or a な-adjective, で is です in the shape it takes mid-sentence: "is, and".
My older brother is a doctor, and my father is a teacher.
I rented a spacious, bright room.
Before a noun, only the last adjective keeps its usual shape.
My older sister lives in Osaka and is a company employee.
住んでいる joins as 住んでいて.
That hotel was quiet, and the rooms were spacious too.
広かった at the end makes both halves past.
"And", not "but"
When the second half goes against the first, the て-form doesn't fit. That takes が or けど.
This restaurant is cheap and good.
Two good things.
This restaurant is cheap, but the food isn't good.
One good, one bad.
Built on the て-form
A short word after the て-form gives a new meaning. These five come first.
てからN5
After doing. It puts the order in plain view: this first, then that.
After finishing my shower, I went to bed.
Other jobs of て and で
The first half can be why the second happened.
I caught a cold and stayed home from school.
て (how)N4
The first verb can say how the second is done: on foot, sitting down, in a hurry.
I walk to the station.
With family and friends, the て-form alone asks someone to do something. 気をつけて (take care) and 頑張って (good luck) are this.
Give me a hand for a second.
After a place, a tool or a cause, で is the particle: "at", "by", "because of". The joining で comes after what someone or something is.
My older brother works at a hospital.
Close neighbours
たり〜たりするN5
A few examples of what you did, in no order; there may have been more. The て-form gives these things, in this order.
Yesterday I went shopping, saw a movie, that sort of thing.
そしてN5
"And" at the start of a new sentence, mostly in stories, essays and speeches.
The rain stopped, and then the moon appeared between the clouds.
Check yourself
1Which one is the て-form?
薬を
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
この
Choose an answer to see why.
3"I ate dinner and watched TV."
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
Starting from the ます-form
Ichidan: ます → て, as in 食べます → 食べて. Godan: い・ち・り → って, み・び・に → んで, き → いて, ぎ → いで, し → して. So 買います → 買って and 読みます → 読んで.
More forms built on it
Doing something for someone as a kindness.
My friend helped me move.
In formal writing
Newspapers and reports often join actions with the ます-stem where speech has the て-form.
I walked to the station and took the train.
More sentences
My mother went to the supermarket and bought vegetables.
I opened the door and entered the room.
Yesterday, I walked to the station and took the train.
This park is spacious and has lots of trees.
I bought a white, round plate.
During the trip, the weather was good, and the food was delicious too.
Yamada is kind and easy to talk to.
My grandfather lives in Kyoto, and my grandmother lives in Nara.