Lesson Twelve: Desu Tenses
While the use of desu is still fresh in your mind, I want to show how you can change it around to make even more sentences. We’ll be changing the tense of the words to make even more sentences!
First let’s cover the past tense form of です(desu). Past tense is where we talk about something that has already happened.
The past tense form of です(desu) is でした(deshita) It is placed in the same place that です(desu) would be.
This is a car. | kore wa kuruma desu. | これはくるまです。 |
This was a car | kore wa kuruma deshita. | これはくるまでした。 |
Just like です(desu), でした(deshita) doesn’t care who or what the topic is.
I was. | watashi deshita. | わたしでした。 |
It was them. | karera deshita. | かれらでした。 |
The negative form can be thought of as isn’t.
It isn’t. | dewa arimasen. | でわありません。 |
The past negative form is a combination of the negative form and the past form. It is “dewa arimasen deshita.”
To recap, the different forms are…
Present positive = desu
Past positive = deshita
Present negative = dewa arimasen
Past negative = dewa arimasen deshita
Notice there is no future tense of desu. Don’t worry about it for now.
Let’s get some new words for you. We’ve already covered two of these.
was | deshita | でした |
isn’t | dewa arimasen | でわありません |
girl | onna no ko | おんなのこ |
boy | otoko no ko | おとこのこ |
animal | doubutsu | どうぶつ |
And one more group of words. Energetic is a commonly used word in Japanese that we’ll be revisiting on the question lessons.
energetic | genki | げんき |
person | hito | ひと |
English | eigo | えいご |
Japanese | nihongo | にほんご |
cat | neko | ねこ |
Alright! Let’s get some playing in!
GAME: Memory
Let’s practice with a few sentences.
The man was a boy. | otoko no hito wa otoko no ko deshita. | 男の人は男の子でした。 |
The cat isn’t a girl. | neko wa onno no ko dewa arimasen. | 猫は女の子でわありません。 |
Do you see how they are used in the sentences? Remember the subject (topic) goes first, then the object, and lastly the verb. There is no Japanese word for “the,” so it is ignored in the Japanese sentences.
Also, there are formal and informal ways of speaking in Japanese. What I’ve covered so far are the formal forms of です(desu). Informal speech is what is used to talk to our friends and family younger than we are. But in most cases you should use formal speech.
Here are the informal forms of です(desu).
Present positive = da
Past positive = datta
Present negative = ja nai
Past Negative = ja nakatta
To use the informal forms of です(desu) instead of the formal forms just replace the formal form with the informal form. It’s pretty easy to change!
Let’s have one more game to drive the point home!
GAME: Multiple choice
We’re going to cover more hiragana next time, we’re almost done with it! Be sure to practice!
