Present tense in Japanese

WorldPractice
WorldPractice
Level A1

Present tense in Japanese

This lesson teaches the polite present of Japanese verbs and how to talk about your habits. Japanese verbs never change for the person: 食べます is "I eat", "she eats" and "they eat". The same ます form also covers the future, so 読みます can mean "I read" or "I'll read", and the situation tells you which. For where you live and work, Japanese uses another form: 住んでいます, 働いています.

Eight everyday verbs for work, home, languages, food and sleep: 仕事をする, 住む, 話す, 勉強する, 食べる, 飲む, 読む, 寝る

  • 仕事(しごと)をするwork
  • 住(す)むlive
  • 話(はな)すspeak
  • 勉強(べんきょう)するstudy
  • 食(た)べるeat
  • 飲(の)むdrink
  • 読(よ)むread
  • 寝(ね)るsleep

Dictionary form, ます and ません: 食べる → 食べます → 食べません

Dictionary formPolite: doesPolite: doesn't
食(た)べる食べます食べません
寝(ね)る寝ます寝ません
飲(の)む飲みます飲みません
読(よ)む読みます読みません
働く働きます働きません
話(はな)す話します話しません
勉強(べんきょう)する勉強します勉強しません

Three groups of verbs, one polite ending: ～ます and ～ません

Japanese verbs fall into three groups. Most verbs ending in -eru or -iru, like 食べる and 寝る, just drop る and add ます: 食べます. Most other verbs change their last sound from u to i before ます: 飲む → 飲みます, 話す → 話します, 働く → 働きます. The third group is する and 来る, which are irregular, and a noun + する works like する: 勉強する → 勉強します.

For "don't", swap ます for ません: 私は肉を食べません. This one form covers habits and the future, and it never changes for I, you, she or they.

Talking about habits: when + what + を + verb (毎朝ニュースを読みます)

Japanese puts the verb last and the time near the start: 毎朝ニュースを読みます, every morning I read the news. The thing you read, eat or drink is marked with を. "I" is usually left out when it's obvious, so a sentence often starts with the time. With friends, use the dictionary form instead of ます: 本をたくさん読むよ.

毎朝ニュースを読みます。

Where you live and work: 住んでいます, 働いています

For where someone lives or works, Japanese doesn't say 住みます or 働きます but uses ～ています: 彼女はパリに住んでいます, she lives in Paris. It describes a situation that lasts, while 住みます means "will live", for example after a move. Make it from the て form: 住む → 住んで, 働く → 働いて, then add います. The place where you live takes に, the place where you work takes で: 父は病院で働いています. With friends, ～ています shortens to ～てる: 勉強してる.

Speaking a language: 日本語を話します, and 話せます for "can speak"

The language takes を: うちではポルトガル語を話します, we speak Portuguese at home. When English "speak" means "know how to speak", Japanese uses 話せます, "can speak": 彼女は三か国語を話せます. With 話せます the language often takes が instead of を: 日本語が少し話せます. So "Do you speak English?" is 英語を話せますか？

日本語を話します。

How often: always, usually, often, sometimes and never (いつも, たいてい, よく, ときどき, 絶対に…ません) go before the verb

Frequency words come early in the sentence, never after the verb at the end: 彼女はいつもゆっくり話します. いつも is always, たいてい is usually, よく is often, and ときどき is sometimes. よく also means "a lot" or "well", so 赤ちゃんはよく寝ます is "the baby sleeps a lot". Japanese has no single word for "never": use 絶対に (absolutely) or ぜんぜん (at all) with a negative verb, as in コーヒーを絶対に飲みません. ふだん (normally) is another common way to say "usually": ふだん、朝ごはんは何を食べるの？

Asking about habits: か in polite speech, の with friends

Japanese has no "do" for questions: add か to the end of a polite sentence, as in どこに住んでいますか？ With friends, use the plain form and end with の, said with a rising voice: 土曜日は働いてるの？ Polite questions often use どちら instead of どこ for "where": どちらで働いていますか？ "You" is usually left out, since the question makes it clear who you mean.

土曜日は働いていますか？

Two friends talk about their week, in plain Japanese: 土曜日は働いてるの？

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