eLecture on Tense and Particles

1. Japanese Grammar
Tenses and Particles

2. Why Japanese is easier
• No plural/singular noun forms
In the sentence “Kore wa hon desu” can
mean you are pointing to one book or to
many books.
• No special forms of verbs
All Vmasu verbs become Vmashita in
the past tense. No exception.
• No specific order of terms
Sentences can be jumbled up as long as
the correct particles are attached to the
correct words

3. Tense
• There are only two tenses in Japanese:
past & non-past.
This talks about the structure of ,for
example,the verb. Meaning, you only
have two forms: Vmasu & Vmashita
And of course, if the sentence is in the
negative: Vmasen & Vmasendeshita

4. Tense
• You use the Past Tense for actions or
events that happened in the past
– Watashi wa kyoukai e ikimashita
This sentence means you went to
church at some time in the past
– Watashi wa piza o tabemashita
This sentence means you ate pizza at
some time in the past

5. Tense
• You use the Non-Past Tense for actions or
events that will happen in the future
– Watashi wa kyoukai e ikimasu
This sentence means you will go to
church at some time in the future
– Watashi wa piza o tabemasu
This sentence means you will eat pizza
at some time in the future

6. Tense
• You also use the Non-Past Tense for
actions or events that occur habitually
– Watashi wa kyoukai e ikimasu
This can also mean you go to church
regularly
– Watashi wa piza o tabemasu
This can also mean pizza is part of your
regular diet

7. Q&A
Q: So if my friend says “Watashi wa kyoukai e
ikimasu,” how will I know if he means he will
be going to church or that he is saying he
usually goes to church?
A: The context of the conversation. If he is
telling you about his everyday life, his
hobbies and alike, then in this context he is
saying he goes to church. But if you just asked
him what he will do on the weekend, then in
answer to your question he is telling you what
he will be doing.

8. Time expressions
• Time expressions are also another way of
differentiating future action from habitual
action
Watashi wa ashita kyoukai e ikimasu
means he will go tomorrow
Watashi wa maishuu Nichiyoubi
kyoukai e ikimasu
means he goes to church every Sunday.