Japanese Verbs – て (te) form

Otousan teaching his son how to use the TE-FORM (~て and ~で)A verb in the て-form (te-form) ends in て or で and is used for making requests, connecting verbs together, and many other useful constructions.  We saved this special verb conjugation for last, because on its own it really does not have a tense (present, past).  In fact, it’s impossible to define exactly what the “te-form” does with one swift explanation because, well, it’s just that versatile.  All we can do is to study it’s most common uses.

The て (te) form + いる (iru) is used to express ongoing actions.

Watashi wa hashitte iru.

We use ~ている (~te iru) to express an ongoing action.  An example of this concept in English would be “I am running” and is often referred to as the present progressive tense.  ~ている (~te iru) is also used to express a continuous action that has been ongoing up until the present time (“I have been running”).  Below I will show you some examples in Japanese.

わたしはしている
Watashi wa hashitte iru.
I am running.
けいこはすしをている
Keiko wa sushi o tabeteiru.
Keiko is eating sushi.
Watashi wa hashitte iru.

Keiko wa sushi o tabeteiru.

なにをしています
Nani o shiteimasu ka?
What are you doing?
宿題しゅくだいをやっていない
Shukudai o yatte inai.
I’m not doing homework.
Nani o shiteimasu ka?

Shukudai o yatte inai.

三十年さんじゅうねん日本語にほんご勉強べんきょうています
San-juu nen nihongo o benkyou shite imasu.
I have been studying Japanese for 30 years.
時々ときどき自転車じてんしゃ学校がっこうている
Tokidoki jitensha de gakkou ni itte iru.
Sometimes I go to school by bike.
San-juu nen nihongo o benkyou shite imasu.

Tokidoki jitensha de gakkou ni itte iru.

テレビをています
Terebi o mite imasu.
I am watching TV.
先生せんせいはなしているの?
Sensei no hanashi o kiite iru no?
Have you been listening to what the teacher’s saying?
Terebi o mite imasu.

Sensei no hanashi o kiite iru no?

The て (te) form + いる (iru) is used to express habitual actions.

The habitual TE form

Think about the sentence “He smokes every day.”  In English, that is the simple present tense we just used to express a habitual action.  In Japanese however, we will use the same continuous tense as we used before to express an ongoing action.  It’s as though we are saying “he is smoking every day”, if you want to get all literal about it.

毎日まいにちすしをている
mainichi sushi o tabete iru.
I eat sushi every day.
毎日まいにち映画えいがている
Mai-nichi, eiga o mini itte iru.
I go to the movies every day.
Mainichi sushi o tabete iru.

Mai-nichi, eiga o mini itte iru.

かれ毎週まいしゅう土曜日どようび東京ときょうている
Kare wa maishuu doyoubi ni Toukyou ni itte iru.
He goes to Tokyo every Saturday.
普段ふだんくるま会社かいしゃかよている
Fudan kuruma de kaisha ni kayotte iru.
I usually go to the office by car.
Kare wa maishuu doyoubi ni Toukyou ni itte iru.

Fudan kuruma de kaisha ni kayotte iru.

子供こどものとき、 毎晩まいばんていました
Kodomo no toki, mai-ban hachi ji ni nete imashita.
I went to bed eight every morning when I was a child.
毎朝まいあさ、ジョギングをしています
Mai-asa joggingu wo shite imasu.
I jog every morning.
Kodomo no toki, mai-ban hachi ji ni nete imashita.

Mai-asa joggingu wo shite imasu.

ちち毎日まいにちはたらています
Chichi wa mai-nichi hataraite imasu.
My father works every day.
いつもおなじTシャツをているね。
Itsumo onaji tiishatsu wo kite iru ne.
You are always wearing the same T-shirt.
Chichi wa mai-nichi hataraite imasu.

Itsumo onaji tiishatsu wo kite iru ne.

The て (te) form is used to express a sequence of verbs.

te form as a sequence of actions

We often use the て (te) form to connect verbs together in a sequence.  It is similar to the way you would say “and” in English.  Just remember to leave the last verb alone, as I’ll show you below.

仕事しごとって友達ともだち食事しょくじします
Shigoto ni itte, tomodachi to shokuji o shimasu.
will go to work and then have dinner with a friend.
九時くじ学校がっこう行った
Ku-ji ni okite gakkou ni itta.
I got up at eight and went to school.
Shigoto ni itte, tomodachi to shokuji o shimasu.

Ku-ji ni okite gakkou ni itta.

あさかおあらってはんべる
Asa okite kao o aratte gohan o taberu.
In the morning I wake up, wash my face and eat breakfast.
本をます.
Hon o yonde, nemasu.
I will read a book and then go to sleep.
Asa okite kao o aratte gohan o taberu.

Hon o yonde, nemasu.

デパートにってくつった
Depaato ni itte kutsu o katta.
I went to the department store and bought shoes.
、おなかがいたくなりました
Tabesugite, onaka ga itakunarimashita.
I ate too much, so I got a stomachache.
Depaato ni itte kutsu o katta.

Tabesugite, onaka ga itakunarimashita.

ベッドがあって, テレビがあって, テーブルもあった
Beddo ga atte, terebi ga atte, teeburu mo atta.
There was a bed, a TV, and a table.
学校がっこうからかえって
Gakkou kara kaette tabete neta.
I came home from school, ate, and went to sleep.
Beddo ga atte, terebi ga atte, teeburu mo atta.

Gakkou kara kaette tabete neta.

The て (te) form + ください (kudasai) is used to make a request.

te kudasai 

As we explained in this lesson, ~てください (~te kudasai) is used for requesting something and is similar to “please”.  The te-form of the verb comes first, followed by ください.

 

 

ここにすわてください
Koko ni suwatte kudasai.
Sit here, please.
ゆっくりってください。
Yukkuri itte kudasai.
Please say it slowly.
Koko ni suwatte kudasai.

Yukkuri itte kudasai.

てください花火はなび綺麗きれいですよ。
Mite kudasai. Hanabi kirei desu yo.
Look!  The fireworks are beautiful.
すこってください
Sukoshi matte kudasai.
Wait a moment, please.
Mite kudasai. Hanabi kirei desu yo.

Sukoshi matte kudasai.

て (te) form + もいいですか (mo ii desu ka) is used to ask permission.

te mo ii desu ka

In this lesson, we showed you how to ask for permission with ~てもいいですか (~te mo ii desu ka).  Here are some examples as a refresher. 

テレビを見もいいですか
Telebi wo mite mo ii desu ka?
(Can I watch television?)

となりすわてもいいですか
Tonari ni suwatte mo ii desu ka?
(May I sit next to you?)

Telebi wo mite mo ii desu ka? Tonari ni suwatte mo ii desu ka?
かさてもいいですか
Kasa o karite mo ii desu ka?
(May I borrow an umbrella?)
ドアをてもいいですか
Doa o akete mo ii desu ka?
(May I open the door?)
Kasa o karite mo ii desu ka?

Doa o akete mo ii desu ka?

How to find the te-form of a verb.

If the plain form of a verb ends with an iru/eru sound, drop the ru and add て.

あけ

(akeru)

  あけ

(akete)

akeru akete

 

If  the plain form of a verb ends with a sound other than iru and eru, use the following chart:

ku changes to ite   su changes to shite
aruku aruite kesu  keshite
       
tsu changes to tte nu changes to nde 
tatsu tatte shinu shinde
       
mu changes to nde au changes to atte
nomu nonde arau aratta

 

We also have some irregular verbs to remember because they like to do their own thing:

suru (do) is shite.

kuru (come) is kite.

iku (go) is itte.

kaeru (returned) is kaette

hashiru (ran) is hashitta

kiru (cut) is kitte.

hairu (entered) is haitte.

 

Casual Form, Past Tense
Negative Casual Form, All tenses  Japanese Verbs Index