A1 · Beginner Chapter 13

Polite Verb Forms: ます, ません, ました

4 Total Rules
16 examples
1 min
Rules in This Chapter Quick Practice

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Master the essential four-way verb grid for polite daily interaction.

  • Express present habits and future intentions politely.
  • Deny actions or state what you do not do.
  • Recount past events using the formal past tense.
The 'Masu' Grid: Your key to polite Japanese society.

What You'll Learn

Learn the polite masu-form conjugations that you will use in everyday conversations. Present, negative, past, and past negative.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to conjugate any dictionary-form verb into the polite present-affirmative form.
  2. 2
    By the end you will be able to decline invitations or state dislikes politely using the negative form.
  3. 3
    By the end you will be able to describe completed actions from your day.
  4. 4
    By the end you will be able to explain what you didn't do in the past using the long-form negative.

Key Examples (8)

1

Mainichi nihongo o benkyou shimasu.

I study Japanese every day.

Polite Present & Future: The ます (masu) Form
2

Ashita Toukyou ni ikimasu.

I will go to Tokyo tomorrow.

Polite Present & Future: The ます (masu) Form
3

Sakana o tabemasen.

I don't eat fish.

Polite Negative: ません (masen) — "I don't..."
4

Ashita ikimasen.

I won't go tomorrow.

Polite Negative: ません (masen) — "I don't..."
5

Kinou eiga o mimashita.

I watched a movie yesterday.

Polite Past Tense: ました (mashita) — "I did..."
6

Asagohan o tabemashita.

I ate breakfast.

Polite Past Tense: ました (mashita) — "I did..."
7

Kinou benkyou shimasen deshita.

I didn't study yesterday.

Polite Past Negative: ませんでした (masen deshita) — "I didn't..."
8

Asagohan o tabemasen deshita.

I didn't eat breakfast.

Polite Past Negative: ませんでした (masen deshita) — "I didn't..."

Tips & Tricks (4)

💡

Listen for -masu

When watching anime or news, listen for the -masu ending. It's everywhere!
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Present & Future: The ます (masu) Form
💡

Consistency

Always use 'masen' for polite speech. Don't switch to casual mid-sentence.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Negative: ません (masen) — "I don't..."
💡

Consistency

Always use 'mashita' in polite settings. Consistency builds trust.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Past Tense: ました (mashita) — "I did..."
💡

Stem Focus

Always find the stem first. It makes conjugation much easier.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Past Negative: ませんでした (masen deshita) — "I didn't..."

Key Vocabulary (7)

食べ(たべ)る to eat 飲み(のみ)ます to drink 行き(いき)ます to go 買い(かい)ます to buy し(し)ます to do 今日(きょう) today 昨日(きのう) yesterday

Real-World Preview

utensils

At a Restaurant

briefcase

Talking to a Colleague

Review Summary

  • Verb Stem + ます (masu)
  • Verb Stem + ません (masen)
  • Verb Stem + ました (mashita)
  • Verb Stem + ませんでした (masen deshita)

Common Mistakes

You cannot use 'nai' to negate the polite past. You must use the full 'masen deshita' structure.

Wrong: 食べ(たべ)ました ない (tabemashita nai)
Correct: 食べ(たべ)ませんでした (tabemasen deshita)

Do not add 'desu' after a 'masu' verb. 'Masu' already contains the politeness of 'desu'.

Wrong: 行き(いき)ます です (ikimasu desu)
Correct: 行き(いき)ます (ikimasu)

Using the past tense 'mashita' for a future event like 'tomorrow' (ashita) is incorrect.

Wrong: 明日(あした) 行き(いき)ました (ashita ikimashita)
Correct: 明日(あした) 行き(いき)ます (ashita ikimasu)

Next Steps

You've just mastered the most important verb forms in Japanese. This is a huge hurdle for beginners, and you've cleared it! Keep practicing these four forms until they feel like second nature.

Write 3 things you did yesterday using ~mashita.

Practice saying 'I don't eat [food]' for 5 different items.

Continue to: Japanese Adjectives: い and な Types

Quick Practice (10)

Conjugate the verb to -masu form.

私は本を ___ (読む).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: 読みます
Group 1 verb: u -> i + masu.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Present & Future: The ます (masu) Form

Which is the correct negative?

私は肉を ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: 食べません
Negative is -masen.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Present & Future: The ます (masu) Form

Choose the correct form.

昨日、学校へ___。

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Past tense is required.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Past Tense: ました (mashita) — "I did..."

Fix the sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

{行|い}くませんでした。

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: {行|い}きませんでした
Use stem.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Past Negative: ませんでした (masen deshita) — "I didn't..."

Fill in the blank.

彼は宿題を___。

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: しません
Shimasu becomes shimasen.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Negative: ません (masen) — "I don't..."

Choose the correct form.

Which is the polite negative?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: 食べません
Masen is the polite negative.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Negative: ません (masen) — "I don't..."

Choose the correct form.

{食|た}べませんでした is:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Past
Deshita marks past.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Past Negative: ませんでした (masen deshita) — "I didn't..."

Fill in the past tense.

私は寿司を___ (eat).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Mashita is the past tense.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Past Tense: ました (mashita) — "I did..."

Fill in the blank.

私は肉を___。

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: 食べません
Masen is the polite negative.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Negative: ません (masen) — "I don't..."

Fill in the blank.

{私|わたし}は{昨日|きのう}{行|い}き___。

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ませんでした
Past negative polite.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Polite Past Negative: ませんでした (masen deshita) — "I didn't..."

Score: /10

Common Questions (6)

No, past tense uses -mashita.
You can, but it sounds distant.
No, 'masen' is for polite speech. Use 'nai' with friends.
Yes, in polite settings. It's the standard negative.
Yes, it is the standard polite past for all verbs.
You can, but it sounds distant. Use 'ta' instead.
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Core Particles: を, に, で, へ
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Japanese Adjectives: い and な Types
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