# The Plain Form

https://langs123.com/en/japanese/verbs/plain-form/
CEFR A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> The plain form is the casual style of verbs, adjectives and nouns, used with friends, in diaries and inside longer sentences. A verb has four plain forms: **食****た****べる**、**食****た****べない**、**食****た****べた**、**食****た****べなかった**

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Present | The dictionary form. | あした、アンナに**会****あ****う**。 | Tomorrow I'm meeting Anna. |
| Present negative | verb + **ない** | 朝あさごはんは**食****た****べない**。 | I don't eat breakfast. |
| Past | verb + **た** | きのう、映画えいがを**見****み****た**。 | I watched a movie yesterday. |
| Past negative | verb + **なかった** | きのうは勉強べんきょう**しなかった**。 | I didn't study yesterday. |
| Noun | noun + **だ** | あしたはやすみ**だ**。 | Tomorrow is a day off. |
| い-adjective | It has no **だ**: **おいしい**, **おいしくない**, **おいしかった**. | このラーメンは**おいしかった**。 | This ramen was delicious. |
| Questions | Drop **か** and let the voice rise. | あした、学校がっこうに**行****い****く**↗ — ううん、**行****い****かない**。 | Are you going to school tomorrow? — No, I'm not. |
| In a polite sentence | A plain clause can stand before **と****思****おも****います** or a noun. | あしたは雨あめが**ふる**と思おもいます。 | I think it will rain tomorrow. |
| Trap | Use the polite form with teachers and strangers. | たなか先生せんせい、あした**来****き****ますか**。 | Tanaka-sensei, are you coming tomorrow? |
| Trap | The past negative of a verb is **なかった**. | 朝あさごはんを**食****た****べなかった**。 | I didn't eat breakfast. |

## Overview

- Plain forms are the normal style with friends and family; polite forms go with teachers, colleagues and strangers. アンナ、あした**来****く****る**↗ / たなか先生せんせい、あした**来****き****ます**か。 (Anna, are you coming tomorrow? / Tanaka-sensei, are you coming tomorrow?)
- The style is set by the last word of a sentence and stays the same through a conversation.
- The polite forms are in The ます-Form; the dictionary form and the groups are in Verb Groups.

## Form: plain verbs

| Form | Polite | Plain |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Present | 食たべます | **食****た****べる** |
| Present negative | 食たべません | **食****た****べない** |
| Past | 食たべました | **食****た****べた** |
| Past negative | 食たべませんでした | **食****た****べなかった** |

| Verb type | Negative: **ない** | Past: **た** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Group 2 | 食たべる → **食****た****べない** | 食たべる → **食****た****べた** |
| Group 1: う | 買かう → **買****か****わない** | 買かう → **買****か****った** |
| Group 1: つ | 待まつ → **待****ま****たない** | 待まつ → **待****ま****った** |
| Group 1: る | 帰かえる → **帰****かえ****らない** | 帰かえる → **帰****かえ****った** |
| Group 1: む, ぶ, ぬ | 飲のむ → **飲****の****まない** | 飲のむ → **飲****の****んだ** |
| Group 1: く | 書かく → **書****か****かない** | 書かく → **書****か****いた** |
| Group 1: ぐ | およぐ → **およがない** | およぐ → **およいだ** |
| Group 1: す | 話はなす → **話****はな****さない** | 話はなす → **話****はな****した** |
| Irregular | する → **しない** | する → **した** |
| Irregular | 来くる → **来****こ****ない** | 来くる → **来****き****た** |
| Irregular | 行いく → **行****い****かない** | 行いく → **行****い****った** |

- A group 1 verb ending in **う** takes **わ** before **ない**. パンは**買****か****わない**。 (I don't buy bread.)
- The negative of **ある** is **ない** itself. 時間じかんが**ない**。 (I have no time.)
- The past negative changes **ない** to **なかった**. きのうは勉強べんきょう**しなかった**。 (I didn't study yesterday.)
- The **た**-form changes like the **て**-form: **て** becomes **た**, **で** becomes **だ**. See The て-Form.

## Form: nouns and adjectives

| Tense | Affirmative | Negative |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Present | noun + **だ** | noun + **じゃない** |
| Past | noun + **だった** | noun + **じゃなかった** |

- A noun takes **だ** in the present and **だった** in the past; the negatives are **じゃない** and **じゃなかった**. きのうはやすみ**じゃなかった**。 (Yesterday was not a day off.)
- A な-adjective takes the same endings as a noun. See な-Adjectives. ねこが好すき**だ**。 (I like cats.)
- An い-adjective is plain already and takes no **だ**: **おいしい**, **おいしくない**, **おいしかった**, **おいしくなかった**. See い-Adjectives. このラーメンは**おいしくない**。 / このラーメンは**おいしかった**。 (This ramen is not delicious. / This ramen was delicious.)

## Use

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Talking with friends and family | きょうは早はやく**起****お****きた**。 | I got up early today. |
| Questions: no **か**, a rising voice | あした、学校がっこうに**行****い****く**↗ — ううん、**行****い****かない**。 | Are you going to school tomorrow? — No, I'm not. |
| Dropped particles in speech | ごはん**食****た****べた**↗ | Did you eat? |
| Diaries and notes | 今日きょうは友達ともだちと映画えいがを**見****み****た**。 | Today I watched a movie with a friend. |
| Inside a polite sentence, before **と****思****おも****います** | あしたは雨あめが**ふる**と思おもいます。 | I think it will rain tomorrow. |
| Before a noun | 私わたしが**買****か****った**本ほんです。 | It's the book I bought. |

- More on quoting and thinking: と思います, と言いました: Opinions and Reported Speech; on clauses before nouns: 買った本: Clauses Before Nouns.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| たなか先生せんせい、あした来くる？ | たなか先生せんせい、あした**来****き****ますか**。 | teachers and strangers get the polite form |
| 朝あさごはんを食たべるです。 | 朝あさごはんを**食****た****べます**。 ¦ 朝あさごはんを**食****た****べる**。 | a verb ends in **ます** or in a plain form; **です** does not follow a verb |
| きのうは朝あさごはんを食たべないでした。 | きのうは朝あさごはんを**食****た****べなかった**。 | the plain past negative is **なかった**; **ないでした** mixes the two styles |
| パンは買かあない。 | パンは**買****か****わない**。 | a group 1 verb ending in **う** takes **わ** before **ない** |
| このラーメンはおいしいだ。 | このラーメンは**おいしい**。 | an い-adjective ends a plain sentence by itself; **だ** does not follow it |