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Te-form

Japanese-Language
by Morris Servaessen | 28 Feb 2023 Te-form

Introduction

The Te-form is a very important part of Japanese grammar.

The Te-form is used to:

  • Making requests ('..., please.')
  • Giving or asking for permission ('May/May I ?')
  • Stating something is forbidden ('You must not ...')
  • Forming a sentence that describes two events or activities ('I did this and then that.')

Grammar Rules

There are different rules for ichidan and godan verbs and irregular verbs to form the te-form.

For ichidan verbs you take the dictionary form of the verb, and replace the last る-syllable of the verb with the て-syllable.

Te-form for Ichidan verbs:

食べる【たべる】　➝　食べる　➝　食べて

For godan verbs it's a little bit more complex to form the te-form.

There are 9 different godan verbs, to know more about these verbs, read our article about godan verbs.

For godan verbs you take the dictionary form of the verb and replace the last syllable with another syllable(s).

Below we show you these syllables for all the 9 godan verbs.

Te-form for the 9 Godan verbs:

  • 遊ぶ　➝　ぶ　➝　んで　➝　遊んで
  • 死ぬ　➝　ぬ　➝　んで　➝　死んで
  • 読む　➝　む　➝　んで　➝　読んで
  • 帰る　➝　る　->　って　➝　帰って
  • 立つ　➝　つ　➝　って　➝　立って
  • 洗う　➝　う　➝　って　➝　洗って
  • 泳ぐ　➝　ぐ　➝　いで　➝　泳いで
  • 書く　➝　く　➝　いて　➝　書いて
  • 話す　➝　す　➝　して　➝　話して

We only have two irregular verbs and we shown below hoe to form the te-form.

Te-form for Irregular verbs:

  • する　➝　して
  • 来る　➝　きて

Examples

Now we know how to form the te-form for all 3 verb groups, we now will show you some examples of how to use them:

Making requests ('..., please.')

ドア　を　閉めて　ください。
Please close the door.

水　を　飲んで　ください。
Please drink water.

手紙　を　書いて　ください。
Please write a letter.

Giving or asking for permission (You may ... / May I ...?')

タバコ　を　吸って　も　いい　です　か。
May I smoke?

家　に　帰って　も　いい　です　か。
May I return back home?

海　を　泳いで　も　いい　です　か。
May I swim in the sea?

Stating something is forbidden ('You must not ...')

スマホ　を　使って　は　いけません。
You must not use your smartphone.

ここ　で　写真　を　撮って　は　いけません。
You must not take pictures over here.

英語　を　話して　は　いけません。
You must not speak English.

Forming a sentence that describes two events or activities ('I did this and then that.')

八時に　起きて、仕事　に　行きました。
I got up at 8 o'clock, and went to work.

バー　に　行って、　ビールド　を　飲みましょう。
Go to the bar, and let's have a drink.

私　は　お風呂　に　入って、寝ます。
I take a bath, and go sleep.