Keep adjective class and time separate. This drill changes 高い, 寒い, いい, and 静か into precisely specified past or negative forms.
Work in two steps
First identify the adjective class. For an い-adjective, remove the final い before adding かった for the past or くない for the negative. The past negative combines those changes: 高くなかった. Preserve the rest of the word; 高かった does not contain the original final い.
いい uses the よ stem in these forms: よかった, よくない, and よくなかった. This exception appears often enough to practise as a small family of forms.
A な-adjective such as 静か follows a different pattern: 静かだった, 静かではない, 静かではなかった. In polite conversation, 静かでした is a useful past form. Do not create 静かかった by applying the い-adjective rule to the wrong class.
Keep the time word in view
昨日 suggests a past statement, but the prompt below asks for the exact form rather than relying on that clue alone. Read negative and past as two separate requirements.
Examples to read before you practise
Japanese | Reading / English |
|---|---|
昨日は寒かったです。 | It was cold yesterday. |
昨日は寒くなかったです。 | It was not cold yesterday. |
昨日の図書館は静かでした。 | The library was quiet yesterday. |
Try six questions
Try these self-check questions from memory, then compare your answers with the explanations. For automatic checking and saved progress, open the related practice after this article.
高い → plain past affirmative
寒い → plain negative
寒い → plain past negative
いい → plain past affirmative
いい → plain past negative
静か → polite past affirmative
Answer key and explanations
高かった / たかかった — Replace the final い with かった.
寒くない / さむくない — The negative ending is くない.
寒くなかった / さむくなかった — Use くなかった for the past negative.
よかった — いい changes to the よ stem.
よくなかった — Use よく plus なかった.
静かでした / しずかでした — A な-adjective uses でした here.
Keep learning
Related lessons
Try what you have just read
Recognise the pattern, write an answer from memory, then use it in a short reading. Your existing progress carries over.
Open the three-step lessonSources
Related Grammar
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