〜てください
please do ... (request)
V(て形) + ください
Polite request using the て-form of a verb.
もう一度言ってください。
Please say it one more time.
12 forms, grouped and explained. Free, no account needed to read.
The て-form is the connector the rest of the language hangs off. Everything below attaches to it, grouped by what the attachment does.
is doing; resulting state
V(て形) + いる
Expresses an action in progress (is doing) or an ongoing state that resulted from an action (is married, knows).
今、雨が降っています。
It is raining now.
has been done (and left that way)
V-て（transitive）+ ある
Something was done deliberately by someone and the result remains. The doer is not mentioned — the point is the present state.
Contrast 〜ている with an intransitive verb: 窓が開いている is "the window is open"; 窓が開けてある is "the window has been opened (by someone, on purpose)".
切符はもう買ってあります。
The tickets have already been bought.
Confused with ておく vs てある vs てしまう
may; it's okay to ...
V(て形) + もいいです
Grants or asks permission. As a question (〜てもいいですか) it asks "may I ...?".
ここで写真を撮ってもいいですか。
May I take photos here?
must not ... (prohibition)
V(て形) + はいけません
States that an action is forbidden.
ここでタバコを吸ってはいけません。
You must not smoke here.
even if, even though
V-て / い-adj -くて / な-adj・N + で + も
The result holds regardless: 雨が降っても行きます.
With a question word it becomes "no matter what": 何を食べても, どこへ行っても, 誰が来ても.
高くても買います。
I'll buy it even if it's expensive.
after doing ...
V1(て形) + から、V2
Indicates that V2 happens after V1 is completed, with a sense of sequence.
ご飯を食べてから、勉強します。
After eating, I study.
Confused with 前に vs 後で vs てから
do in advance, leave as is
V-て + おく
Do something now because of something later — preparation. 予約しておきます means you book ahead so it's sorted.
It can also mean leaving something alone deliberately: そのままにしておいてください. Casual speech contracts it to 〜とく (やっとく).
旅行の前に、ホテルを予約しておきます。
I'll book the hotel before the trip.
Confused with ておく vs てある vs てしまう
do completely; do by accident (regret)
V-て + しまう
Two senses that share one form: finishing something off (宿題をしてしまいました), or doing something you regret (財布をなくしてしまいました).
Tone tells them apart. Contracts to 〜ちゃう / 〜じゃう in speech, which is where most learners first meet it.
電車に傘を忘れてしまいました。
I went and left my umbrella on the train.
Confused with ておく vs てある vs てしまう
try doing and see
V-て + みる
Do something to find out what happens. Not "attempt" — that is 〜ようとする. 食べてみます is "I'll have a taste and see", with no suggestion of difficulty.
Written in kana, not 見る, because the seeing is figurative.
この服を着てみてもいいですか。
May I try this on?
do for someone / someone does for me / have someone do
V-て + あげる / くれる / もらう
Who benefits, and in which direction. あげる: I do it for them. くれる: they do it for me — the one that always points inward. もらう: I get them to do it, marking the doer with に.
〜てあげる can sound patronising said directly to someone; 〜ましょうか is safer for offers.
友達が駅まで送ってくれました。
My friend gave me a lift to the station.
Spaced repetition brings each form back right before you’d forget it, inside real sentences. Free, forever, no paywall.