Translated examples
昨日、本を読んだ。
I read a book yesterday.
駅で友だちに会った。
I met a friend at the station.
先週、京都に行った。
I went to Kyoto last week.
昼ごはんを食べた。
I ate lunch.
宿題をした。
I did my homework.
兄が来た。
My older brother came.
The た form is the plain affirmative past. Its sound changes match the て form: replace final て with た and で with だ. It also appears inside larger patterns, where the whole expression may describe experience, sequence, or a condition rather than a simple past statement.
Formation and use
| Ending / group | Dictionary | Past |
|---|---|---|
| う・つ・る / godan | 買う・待つ・帰る | 買った・待った・帰った |
| む・ぶ・ぬ | 飲む・遊ぶ・死ぬ | 飲んだ・遊んだ・死んだ |
| く | 書く | 書いた |
| ぐ | 泳ぐ | 泳いだ |
| す | 話す | 話した |
| 行く | 行く | 行った |
| ichidan | 食べる・見る | 食べた・見た |
| する・来る | する・来る | した・来た（きた） |
For godan verbs use the ending groups: 買う・待つ・帰る become 買った・待った・帰った; 飲む・遊ぶ・死ぬ become 飲んだ・遊んだ・死んだ. Group the sounds rather than adding た directly.
書く becomes 書いた, 泳ぐ becomes 泳いだ, and 話す becomes 話した. 行く is the important exception: 行った, not 行いた. The same exception appears in 行って.
Comparisons and common errors
Ichidan verbs drop る and add た: 食べた, 見た. する→した and 来る→来た（きた） are irregular. Check 帰った against 食べた to avoid treating every る verb alike.
The negative past is formed from ない: 飲まない→飲まなかった. Do not use 飲んだない. Use 飲みました when you need a polite affirmative past ending.
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 Te-Form: Conjugation Table, Uses, and Practice
Form the te-form for all verb groups, handle the 行く exception, use requests and permission, and practise with 12 explained answers.
Japanese Nai Form: Verb Negatives and Exceptions
The plain negative is needed for negative statements and patterns such as ないでください. Start from the dictionary form and the verb group. Practise with 10 explained questions.
Ta Koto Ga Aru: Talk About Experience
Use a た-form verb with ことがある to say that an experience has occurred at least once before the reference time. Practise with 10 explained questions.