Toki: Say When an Action or State Applies

とき turns a description into a time setting: 日本に行くとき, 子どものとき. The form before とき matters. 行くとき can refer to the occasion before or during going; 行ったとき looks at an occasion after the going has been realised. Context gives the exact relationship.

Formation and use

Verbs use plain forms: 行くとき, 行ったとき, 行かないとき. Avoid the polite 行きますとき in the basic modifying structure. The final predicate can still be polite.

Nouns use の and na-adjectives use な: 学生のとき, 暇なとき. I-adjectives attach directly: 寒いとき. These are the same attachment distinctions seen before other nouns.

Comparisons and common errors

Compare 日本に行くとき、切符を買いました with 日本に行ったとき、写真を撮りました. The first naturally places buying before departure; the second places taking photos on the realised trip.

Do not reduce every た before とき to a past-time label relative to now. Relative order and completedness can matter even when the final predicate is non-past. Start by drawing the two actions in the intended order.

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

• Plain and Polite Japanese: Forms, Tense, and Context
• Japanese Relative Clauses: Put a Description Before a Noun
• Mae Ni and Ato De: Before and After an Action