Welcome to Gaia! ::

This lesson is going to be tricky. No way around it. Let's just try to get through it together.

Okay, in Lesson Eleven we learned about dictionary or root forms of verbs. If you're not totally solid on that material, go back and review it now.

You know that there are three groups of verbs, and that "dictionary" form is very informal. Good. Now, we're going to take this one group at a time.

GROUP ONE

If you want to change the informal dictionary form into formal past tense, drop the "u" and add "imashita".

kaku becomes kakimashita (wrote)

But if you want to keep the verb informal, it gets complicated. Bear with me.

If the root (dictionary form) ends in KU, drop the KU and add ITA.

kaku becomes kaita (wrote)

If the root ends in GU, drop the GU and add IDA.

oyogu becomes oyoida (swam)

If the root ends with U, TSU or RU, drop the U, TSU or RU and add TTA.

kaeru becomes kaetta (returned)

If the root ends with NU, BU or MU, drop the NU, BU or MU and add NDA.

nomu becomes nonda (drank)

If the root ends with SU, drop the SU and add SHITA.

hanasu becomes hanashita (spoke)

GROUP TWO

To change your verb from root form to formal past tense, drop the RU and add MASHITA.

miru becomes mimashita (saw)

To change your root to the informal past tense, simply drop the RU and add TA.

taberu becomes tabeta (ate)

GROUP THREE

For formal past tense:

kuru becomes kimashita

suru becomes shimashita

For informal past tense:

kuru becomes kita

suru becomes shita

Is everyone clear on this material? I know it's a lot to remember, but it is all very important in your journey to Japanese fluency.

The dictionary form IS ru. When you put it in "imashita" it becomes Formal Past Tense.

This is very tricky, must concentrate more on this.

We're going to do a LOT more work with this later...

Don't worry, I'll help you with this.

All the verbs belong to either group one, group two or group three. But to change verbs in DICTIONARY form (-ru) to PAST DICTIONARY FORM, the method is different depending on which group the verb falls into.

So if you have a verb and it belongs in GROUP ONE, then goup and look under GROUP ONE in the lesson to learn how to change it to past tense.

If the verb belongs to GROUP TWO then go up and find group two, and then the methods for changing it to past tense is there and so on for group three.

Better?

By jove, I think she's got it!

Writing things down for yourself is always the best way to learn. I have notebooks upon notebooks filled with this stuff.

I learned a song in high school that helped me remember it...let's see if I can remember it/communicate it properly...

Oh never mind...I just tried to write it out and its actually a lot more complicated. It's less complicated (and probably more correct) to learn it from dictionary form.

がんばってください

well. it look okay how it broken down. but some of the Japanese music that artist sings. how does work when understand the past words they saying? Sensei hope to learn more how it is useful use dictionary form.