Introduction
How do you say “I went to the library,” “I didn’t eat lunch,” or “I studied Japanese yesterday” in Japanese?
To talk about something that already happened, you’ll need to use the past tense of Japanese verbs — a simple but powerful grammar pattern!
In this beginner-friendly article, you’ll learn:
✔ How to make Japanese verbs past tense (affirmative and negative)
✔ Common past-tense expressions you can use every day
✔ Polite forms using ました and ませんでした
✔ Real-life examples and practice questions
✔ A helpful FAQ to answer your questions
Let’s step back in time — in Japanese!
1. What is the Japanese Past Tense?
Japanese verbs change form to show past actions.
The polite present tense ends in:
- ます (affirmative)
- ません (negative)
The polite past tense changes to:
- ました (affirmative) → “did”
- ませんでした (negative) → “did not”
Basic Pattern
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| 食べます（eat） | 食べました（ate） |
| 食べません（don’t eat） | 食べませんでした（didn’t eat） |
Rule: Replace the final ます or ません with ました or ませんでした!
2. Common Examples
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 七時（しちじ）ごろ 帰（かえ）りました。 | I went home around 7 o’clock. |
| 今日（きょう）、日本語（にほんご）を 勉強（べんきょう）しませんでした。 | I didn’t study Japanese today. |
| 週末（しゅうまつ）、くつを 買（か）いました。 | I bought shoes on the weekend. |
| 図書館（としょかん）で 勉強（べんきょう）しました。 | I studied at the library. |
| 金曜日（きんようび）に 学校（がっこう）で 写真（しゃしん）を 撮（と）りました。 | I took a photo at school on Friday. |
3. Practice: Change These to Past Tense
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| 買（か）います | 買（か）いました |
| 書（か）きます | 書（か）きました |
| 書（か）きません | 書（か）きませんでした |
| 寝（ね）ます | 寝（ね）ました |
| 分（わ）かります | 分（わ）かりました |
| 行（い）きます | 行（い）きました |
| 行（い）きません | 行（い）きませんでした |
| 撮（と）ります | 撮（と）りました |
| 撮（と）りません | 撮（と）りませんでした |
4. FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
- QCan I use ました with any verb?
- A
Yes! As long as you know the polite form (ます), just replace it with ました to make it past tense.
- QAre there any irregular verbs in the past tense using ました and ませんでした?
- A
For the polite form using ました and ませんでした, the conjugation is quite regular. The main irregularity you might encounter is with the verb する (suru – to do), which becomes しました (shimashita – did) and しませんでした (shimasen deshita – didn’t do). However, the pattern of replacing “masu” with “mashita” or “masen deshita” still holds.
- QCan I use this past tense when writing emails or speaking politely?
- A
Definitely! The ました／ませんでした forms are polite and great for formal or everyday use.
- QIs ました the only way to say the past tense in Japanese?
- A
No, ました is the polite past tense form. There is also a more casual past tense form (た-form). This article focuses on the polite ました and ませんでした forms, which are generally safer to use in most situations, especially when speaking to someone you don’t know well or in formal settings.
- QDoes the past tense form change based on who performed the action (like “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “they”)?
- A
No, the past tense form of Japanese verbs (both ました and ませんでした) is the same regardless of the subject.
- QDoes the past tense form change based on who performed the action (like “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “they”)?
- A
No, the past tense form of Japanese verbs (both ました and ませんでした) is the same regardless of the subject.
5. Conclusion: Start Talking About Your Day (Yesterday!)
You’ve just unlocked one of the most useful verb forms in Japanese:
✅ Talk about what you did, where you went, and what you didn’t do — all with ました and ませんでした!
🎯 Practice by writing about your last weekend in 3 sentences.
→ Where did you go? What did you eat? What didn’t you do?
Want to improve your Japanese with real conversations?
Our native Japanese instructors at gokigen japanese can help you perfect your pronunciation and learn real-life usage.
Whether you’re completely new to Japanese or looking to refine your skills, book a one-on-one session.
