Japanese: The -te form

Walkthrough of the -te form for verbs, notes from 2024-04-08

Usage

There are many uses for the -te form. Here are a few:

• Connecting verbs
  • The "te" form can be used to connect verbs in a sentence to indicate simultaneous or sequential actions, events, or states. For example, "hachi-ji ni okite gakkou ni itta" (八時に起きて学校に行った) translates to "I got up at eight and went to school".
• Speaking in the present progressive
  • The "te" form can be used to speak in the present progressive. For example, "matte kudasai" (待ってください) translates to "please wait".
• Asking for permission
  • The "te" form can be used to ask for permission. For example, "matte moraemasu ka?" (待ってもらえますか?) translates to "can I get you to wait?".
• Indicate a completed action
  • The "te" form can be used to indicate a completed action, often translated as "have done" or "did". For example, "matte" (待って) is the "-te" form of the verb "matsu" (待つ) which means "wait".
• Combining adjectives and nouns
  • The "te" form can be used to combine adjectives and nouns. For example, the "te" form of an "い" adjective is formed by substituting "くて" for the final "い".
• Requesting people to do things
  • The "te" form can be used with the verb kudasai (ください) to request people to do things.

Two Main Verbs

There are two main verbs in Japanese: u verbs and ru verbs. The -te form is different for each type of verb. There are also some irregular verbs which conjugate differently.

ru (る) Verbs

To conjugate a ru verb to the -te form, drop the ru (る) ending and add the -te (て) ending.

For example, taberu (食べる), to eat, becomes:

tabete (食べて)

u (う) Verbs

There are many types of u verbs. They can be categorized into four categories.

1. su (す) verbs

To conjugate a su (す) verb to the -te form, remove the su (す) ending and add -shite (して).

For example, hanasu (話す), to speak, becomes:

hanashite (話して)

2. ku (く) and gu (ぐ) verbs

To conjugate ku (く) and gu (ぐ) verbs to the -te form, remove the ku/gu (く/ぐ) ending and add -ite (いて) or -ide (いで).

For example, kaku (書く), to write, becomes:

kaite (書いて)

3. mu (む), nu (ぬ) and bu (ぶ) verbs

To conjugate mu, nu and bu verbs to the -te form, remove the mu/nu/bu ending and add -nde (んで).

For example, nomu (飲む), to drink, becomes:

nonde (飲んで)

4. u (う), tsu (つ) and some ru (う) verbs

To conjugate purely u ("wu"), tsu, and some special ru verbs to the -te form, remove the u/tsu/ru ending and add -tte (って).

For example, kuu (食う), to eat, becomes:

kutte (食って)

Irregular Verbs

There are a few irregular verbs that conjugate differently. Here are a few:

suru (する), to do

suru (する) becomes:

shite (して)

kuru (来る), to come

kuru (来る) becomes:

kite (来て)

iku (行く), to go

iku (行く) becomes:

itte (行って)

Additional Endings

In practice, additional endings are added to the -te form to express different meanings. Here are a few:

-kudasai (ください)

-kudasai (ください) is added to the -te form to make a polite request.

For example, taberu (食べる) becomes:

tabete kudasai (食べてください)

-iru (いる) and -aru (ある)

-iru (いる) and -aru (ある) are added to the -te form to casually express actions that are in progress.

For example, hanasu (話す) becomes:

hanashite iru (話している)

-imasu (います) and -arimasu (あります)

-imasu (います) and -arimasu (あります) are added to the -te form to politely express actions that are in progress.

For example, oyogu (泳ぐ), to swim, becomes:

oyoide imasu (泳いでいます)

-inai (いない)

-inai (いない) is added to the -te form to express actions that are not in progress.

For example, nomu (飲む) becomes:

nonde inai (飲んでいない)

-moiidesuka (もいいですか)

-moiidesuka (もいいですか) is added to the -te form to ask for permission.

For example, kuu (食う) becomes:

kutte moiidesuka (食ってもいいですか)

Other Notes

Mixing Japanese and English, you can verb-ize an English word by adding -suru (する) to the English word. For example, "to email" becomes e-mail suru (イーメールする).