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Category grammar
Te form
The te form of a Japanese verb is the form which ends in te or de. It is used in forms like te iru and te shimau.
The te form of a Japanese verb is used when the verb has some kind of connection to the following words. The conjugation of the te form is similar to the conjugation of the past tense.
|
| Type |
Becomes |
Examples |
Te form |
| Irregular verbs
|
| suru |
shite |
aisuru |
aishite |
| kuru |
kite |
|
|
| iku (go) |
itte |
|
|
| irassharu (polite) |
irashite |
|
|
| masu stem |
mashite |
akemasu |
akemashite |
| Regular verbs
|
| u |
tte |
tsukau (use) |
tsukatte |
| ku |
ite |
yaku (burn) |
yaite |
| gu |
ide |
oyogu (swim) |
oyoide |
| su |
shite |
shimesu (show) |
shimeshite |
| tsu |
tte |
matsu (wait) |
matte |
| nu |
nde |
shinu (die) |
shinde |
| bu |
nde |
yobu (call) |
yonde |
| mu |
nde |
yomu (read) |
yonde |
| ru (consonant stem) |
tte |
hashiru (run) |
hashitte |
| iru, eru (vowel stem) |
ite, ete |
taberu |
tabete |
| Adjectives
|
| i adjective |
kute |
yasui (cheap) |
yasukute |
| na adjective |
de |
kantan (simple) |
kantan de |
Usage
In requests with kure and kudasai.
:Tabete kudasai "Please eat this."
With the verbs
*Iru: It can mean "to be doing": matte iru: "I am waiting" or "to do": shitte iru: "I know". Collquially, in this form the "i" often disappears, so matte iru becomes matteru and shitte iru becomes shitteru.
*Oku: It means "to do in advance". o bentÅ o tsukutte oita: "I've already made a boxed lunch". Colloquially, in this form the "e" often disappears, so tsukutte oita becomes tsukuttoita
*Aru: This forms a kind of passive. It is very common with the verb kaku, to write. Koko ni moji ga kaite aru: "There are some characters written here".
*Shimau: This implies something is completed: katazukete shimatta: "I have finished tidying". It can also suggest a regretable situation: {{jr|Watashi no kagi ga kiete shimatta.: "My keys have disappeared". The form te shimau is shortened to chimau or chau, and the de shimau form is shortened to jau or jimau in colloquial speech.
To join two sentences. Yasukute ii ne: "It's good that it's cheap".
With particles in formations such as
*te wa ikenai: "You must not ...". For example, tabete wa ikenai: "You must not eat this".
*te mo ii: "You can do this". For example, tabete mo ii: "You can eat it".