Informal Negative Past Tense of Verbs
When speaking with friends and family, we can dispense with formalities and use the colloquial form. The informal negative past tense of verbs is not as straightforward as the polite negative past tense, where we simply change "masu" to "masendeshita". Each verb group has its own rules, which we will address in this article.
Conjugation of Group 1 Verbs
To conjugate Group 1 verbs into the informal negative past tense, we change the last kana to its equivalent in the "A" row of the kana chart and add "nakatta".
Table of Kana Changes
Kana Change to う わ く か ぐ が す さ つ た ぬ な ぶ ば む ま る ら
Examples of Verb Conjugations
Verb Informal Negative Past Translation 使う
(つかう) 使わなかった
(つかわなかった) Didn't use 書く
(かく) 書かなかった
(かかなかった) Didn't write 泳ぐ
(およぐ) 泳がなかった
(およがなかった) Didn't swim 話す
(はなす) 話さなかった
(はなさなかった) Didn't converse 待つ
(まつ) 待たなかった
(またなかった) Didn't wait 死ぬ
(しぬ) 死ななかった
(しななかった) Didn't die 遊ぶ
(あそぶ) 遊ばなかった
(あそばなかった) Didn't play 飾る
(かざる) 飾らなかった
(かざらなかった) Didn't decorate
あの どろぼう は しななかった ね。- That thief didn't die, did he?
かれ は レポート を かかなかった。- He didn't write the report.
Conjugation of Group 2 Verbs
Group 2 verbs have simpler conjugations. We just remove "ru" and replace it with "nakatta".
Verb Informal Negative Past Translation 開ける
(あける) 開けなかった
(あけなかった) Didn't open 調べる
(しらべる) 調べなかった
(しらべなかった) Didn't research 信じる
(しんじる) 信じなかった
(しんじなかった) Didn't believe
まずかった から たべなかった。- It tasted bad, so I didn't eat it.
じかん が なかった から しらべなかった。- I didn't have time, so I didn't research.
Conjugation of Group 3 Verbs
Irregular verbs have their own conjugations. In this case, the verb ある (aru) also changes to ない (nai).
Verb Informal Negative Past Translation する しなかった Didn't do 来る
(くる) 来なかった
(こなかった) Didn't come ある なかった Didn't exist
たなか くん は しゅくだい を しなかった。- Tanaka-kun didn't do his homework.
すずき くん は まだ こなかった か。- Suzuki-kun hasn't come yet?
The informal negative past tense of Japanese verbs involves specific conjugation rules that vary by verb group. Group 1 verbs change their final kana to the corresponding kana in the "A" row before adding "nakatta". Group 2 verbs simply replace "ru" with "nakatta". Irregular verbs, including "aru", have unique changes. Understanding these rules allows for more natural and fluent communication in casual settings. Mastering these conjugations enhances your ability to engage in everyday conversations with friends and family.
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When speaking with friends and family, we can dispense with formalities and use the colloquial form. The informal negative past tense of verbs is not as straightforward as the polite negative past tense, where we simply change "masu" to "masendeshita". Each verb group has its own rules, which we will address in this article.
Conjugation of Group 1 Verbs
To conjugate Group 1 verbs into the informal negative past tense, we change the last kana to its equivalent in the "A" row of the kana chart and add "nakatta".
Table of Kana Changes
| Kana | Change to |
|---|---|
| う | わ |
| く | か |
| ぐ | が |
| す | さ |
| つ | た |
| ぬ | な |
| ぶ | ば |
| む | ま |
| る | ら |
Examples of Verb Conjugations
| Verb | Informal Negative Past | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 使う (つかう) | 使わなかった (つかわなかった) | Didn't use |
| 書く (かく) | 書かなかった (かかなかった) | Didn't write |
| 泳ぐ (およぐ) | 泳がなかった (およがなかった) | Didn't swim |
| 話す (はなす) | 話さなかった (はなさなかった) | Didn't converse |
| 待つ (まつ) | 待たなかった (またなかった) | Didn't wait |
| 死ぬ (しぬ) | 死ななかった (しななかった) | Didn't die |
| 遊ぶ (あそぶ) | 遊ばなかった (あそばなかった) | Didn't play |
| 飾る (かざる) | 飾らなかった (かざらなかった) | Didn't decorate |
あの どろぼう は しななかった ね。- That thief didn't die, did he?
かれ は レポート を かかなかった。- He didn't write the report.
Conjugation of Group 2 Verbs
Group 2 verbs have simpler conjugations. We just remove "ru" and replace it with "nakatta".
| Verb | Informal Negative Past | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 開ける (あける) | 開けなかった (あけなかった) | Didn't open |
| 調べる (しらべる) | 調べなかった (しらべなかった) | Didn't research |
| 信じる (しんじる) | 信じなかった (しんじなかった) | Didn't believe |
まずかった から たべなかった。- It tasted bad, so I didn't eat it.
じかん が なかった から しらべなかった。- I didn't have time, so I didn't research.
Conjugation of Group 3 Verbs
Irregular verbs have their own conjugations. In this case, the verb ある (aru) also changes to ない (nai).
| Verb | Informal Negative Past | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| する | しなかった | Didn't do |
| 来る (くる) | 来なかった (こなかった) | Didn't come |
| ある | なかった | Didn't exist |
たなか くん は しゅくだい を しなかった。- Tanaka-kun didn't do his homework.
すずき くん は まだ こなかった か。- Suzuki-kun hasn't come yet?
The informal negative past tense of Japanese verbs involves specific conjugation rules that vary by verb group. Group 1 verbs change their final kana to the corresponding kana in the "A" row before adding "nakatta". Group 2 verbs simply replace "ru" with "nakatta". Irregular verbs, including "aru", have unique changes. Understanding these rules allows for more natural and fluent communication in casual settings. Mastering these conjugations enhances your ability to engage in everyday conversations with friends and family.