Translated examples
毎日、新聞を読みます。
I read the newspaper every day.
明日、学校に行きます。
I will go to school tomorrow.
今日は働きません。
I am not working today.
昨日、映画を見ました。
I watched a film yesterday.
昨日は勉強しませんでした。
I did not study yesterday.
先生は九時に来ます。
The teacher comes at nine.
The ます ending makes a verb polite. Its non-past form can describe a habit or a future action; a time expression supplies the context. Learn all four endings together so that a change in tense does not force you to rebuild the whole sentence.
Formation and use
| Dictionary | Non-past | Negative | Past | Negative past |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 読む | 読みます | 読みません | 読みました | 読みませんでした |
| 食べる | 食べます | 食べません | 食べました | 食べませんでした |
| する | します | しません | しました | しませんでした |
| 来る | 来ます（きます） | 来ません（きません） | 来ました（きました） | 来ませんでした（きませんでした） |
For godan verbs, move the final u-row sound to the i-row: 飲む→飲み, 話す→話し, 帰る→帰り. Add the polite ending to that stem.
For ichidan verbs, remove る: 起きる→起き, 食べる→食べ. する becomes し and 来る becomes 来（き） before ます. Do not apply the godan rule to every verb.
Comparisons and common errors
ます is affirmative non-past; ません is negative non-past; ました is affirmative past; ませんでした is negative past. 今日、行きません and 昨日、行きませんでした refer to different times.
Do not add です after a ます verb. 明日、行きます is already polite. A sentence ending in a noun or adjective uses different endings; it does not automatically take ます.
Practise with explanations
Try the 10 questions below, or open the practice set. Check each answer or the whole set, read the explanation, and retry mistakes. First-attempt results are kept separately on this device.
Connected lessons
Sources
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 lessonRelated Grammar
Japanese Verb Groups: Godan, Ichidan, and Irregular Verbs
The dictionary form tells you how to look up a verb; its group tells you how to change it. Learn the group with the word instead of guessing from the final る alone. Practise with 10 explained questions.
Plain and Polite Japanese: Forms, Tense, and Context
Politeness and tense are separate choices. 行く and 行きます are both non-past; 行った and 行きました are both past. Practise with 10 explained questions.
Japanese Tai Form: Wants, Negatives, Past Forms, and Practice
Form たい from the ます-stem, change its tense and negative, compare ほしい, and practise six explained questions.