〜ます／〜ません
polite non-past verb (do / don't)
V(stem) + ます／ません
The polite present and future verb form, with ません as its negative.
毎日日本語を勉強します。
I study Japanese every day.
44 forms, grouped and explained. Free, no account needed to read.
Every verb form we cover, grouped by what it does rather than by exam level. Each one below is our full write-up — the same page the grammar index links to — so you can read the lot in order or jump to the form you came for.
polite non-past verb (do / don't)
V(stem) + ます／ません
The polite present and future verb form, with ません as its negative.
毎日日本語を勉強します。
I study Japanese every day.
polite past verb (did / didn't)
V(stem) + ました／ませんでした
The polite past form of verbs and its negative.
昨日映画を見ました。
I watched a movie yesterday.
let's ...
V(stem) + ましょう
have done ... before (experience)
V(た形) + ことがある
States that one has the experience of doing something at least once.
日本に行ったことがあります。
I have been to Japan.
have done before (experience)
V-た + ことがある
Life experience, not a past event. 富士山に登ったことがあります is "I've climbed Fuji at some point" — never used with a specific date.
With the dictionary form the meaning changes entirely: 〜ことがある means "there are times when".
日本へ行ったことがありますか。
Have you ever been to Japan?
just did (a short while ago)
can do, be able to do
V-potential: 五段 -u → -eru · 一段 -る → -られる · する → できる · 来る → 来られる
The potential form says you are *able* to do something. The object usually takes が rather than を — 日本語が話せます, not 日本語を話せます — because the sentence is really about what is possible, not what you act on.
In casual speech 一段 verbs often drop the ら (食べられる → 食べれる). You will hear it constantly; it is still marked wrong on the exam.
私は日本語が少し話せます。
I can speak a little Japanese.
Confused with られる vs ことができる
can; be able to ...
V(辞書形) + ことができる
Expresses ability or possibility in a slightly formal way.
漢字を読むことができます。
I can read kanji.
Confused with られる vs ことができる
be ~ed (passive)
五段 -u → -areru · 一段 -る → -られる · する → される · 来る → 来られる
The doer is marked with に: 先生に褒められました — "I was praised by the teacher."
Japanese also has the "suffering passive", which English lacks: 雨に降られました, literally "I was rained on" — something happened and it affected me badly. Even intransitive verbs can take it.
友達にケーキを食べられました。
My cake got eaten by my friend.
make / let someone do
五段 -u → -aseru · 一段 -る → -させる · する → させる · 来る → 来させる
One form, two meanings, and the particle is what separates them in practice. With を the nuance is usually "make": 子供を歩かせました. With に and a transitive verb it leans toward "let": 子供に本を読ませました.
Context decides which; there is no separate grammar for "make" and "let".
母は妹に部屋を掃除させました。
My mother made my little sister clean the room.
want to do ...
V(stem) + たい
Expresses the speaker's desire to do something. Conjugates like an い-adjective.
寿司が食べたいです。
I want to eat sushi.
intend to ...
V(辞書形／ない形) + つもりです
States a firm intention or plan. ないつもり expresses intention not to do.
来年日本へ行くつもりです。
I intend to go to Japan next year.
intend to
V-plain / V-ない + つもりだ
if ~, when ~
V-た / い-adj-かった / N・な-adj + だった + ら
The most flexible conditional, and the one to reach for when unsure. It covers both "if" and "once/when", and unlike と it allows a request, invitation or opinion in the second half.
Built from the past form, but it says nothing about the past: 時間があったら means "if there's time", not "there was time".
雨が降ったら、行きません。
If it rains, I won't go.
Confused with たら vs ば vs と vs なら
if ~ (then)
五段 -u → -eba · 一段 -る → -れば · い-adj -い → -ければ
A more formal, more logical "if" — it presents a general condition rather than a specific occasion. Common in advice and in set phrases: 〜ばいい (you should just ~), 〜ば〜ほど (the more ~, the more ~).
Avoid it when the second half is a command or request about the same subject; use たら there instead.
安ければ買います。
If it's cheap, I'll buy it.
must, have to
V-ない stem + なければならない / なくてはいけない
Obligation. ならない leans toward a general rule; いけない leans toward this particular situation, though in practice they are near-interchangeable.
Spoken Japanese contracts heavily: なきゃ, なくちゃ. Recognising those in the listening section matters more than producing them.
明日までに出さなければなりません。
I have to hand it in by tomorrow.
Confused with なければならない vs なくてもいい
don't have to
V-ない stem + なくてもいい
The absence of obligation — the direct counterpart of なければならない.
Don't confuse it with 〜てはいけない (must not). "You don't have to come" and "you must not come" are opposite messages built from similar parts.
明日は来なくてもいいです。
You don't have to come tomorrow.
Confused with
while doing ...
V1(stem) + ながら、V2
Two actions by the same person at the same time; the main action is V2.
音楽を聞きながら勉強します。
I study while listening to music.
while doing (both at once)
V-masu stem + ながら
Two actions by the *same person* at the same time. The main action is the second clause — 音楽を聞きながら勉強する is studying, with music on.
For two different people acting at once, use 間に instead.
音楽を聞きながら勉強します。
I study while listening to music.
do things like A and B
Spaced repetition brings each form back right before you’d forget it, inside real sentences. Free, forever, no paywall.
Suggests doing something together, or volunteers to act.
一緒に食べましょう。
Let's eat together.
shall I ...? (offering)
V(stem) + ましょうか
Offers to do something for the listener, or asks for confirmation of a joint plan.
手伝いましょうか。
Shall I help you?
won't you ...? (invitation)
V(stem) + ませんか
A polite invitation — softer than ましょう because it asks rather than proposes.
お茶を飲みませんか。
Won't you have some tea?
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.
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
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.
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
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
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?
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.
V-た + ばかり
Close to 〜たところ but subjective: ばかり is about how recent it *feels*. 去年日本に来たばかりです is fine a year later; 来たところ would not be.
この会社に入ったばかりです。
I've only just joined this company.
about to / in the middle of / just did
V-plain（about to）/ V-ている（in the middle）/ V-た（just finished）+ ところだ
One noun, three points on a timeline, chosen by the verb form before it: 食べるところ (about to eat), 食べているところ (eating right now), 食べたところ (just ate).
The exam tests exactly that distinction, so read the verb form before the ところ.
今、出かけるところです。
I'm just about to go out.
when ...
V／adj／Nの + とき
Means "at the time of ...". The tense of the clause before とき shows whether the action is complete.
子供のとき、東京に住んでいました。
When I was a child, I lived in Tokyo.
when ~
V-plain / い-adj / な-adj + な / N + の + 時
The verb form before 時 sets the timing relative to the main clause, not to now. 日本へ行く時 is before or during the trip (buying a suitcase); 日本へ行った時 is after arriving (something that happened there).
子供の時、よく川で遊びました。
When I was a child, I often played in the river.
can, be able to
V-plain + ことができる
A more formal alternative to the potential form, common in writing, signs and announcements. ここで切符を買うことができます.
Same meaning as 買えます, but heavier — in conversation the potential form is what people use.
ここでチケットを買うことができます。
You can buy tickets here.
Confused with られる vs ことができる
come to be able to, reach the point of
V-plain / V-potential + ようになる
Marks a change that happened gradually. Very often paired with the potential form: 泳げるようになりました — "I've become able to swim."
For the negative, 〜なくなる is more natural than 〜ないようになる.
漢字が読めるようになりました。
I've become able to read kanji.
be made to do (unwillingly)
causative stem + られる
You were made to do something and you did not want to. The feeling of reluctance is part of the grammar, not an extra word.
五段 verbs usually contract: 飲まされる rather than 飲ませられる. Both are correct; the short form is what people say.
**Except す-ending verbs**, which never contract: 話す becomes 話させられる, and 話さされる is simply wrong. The contraction would run into the す itself.
部長にお酒を飲まされました。
My boss made me drink.
A firm intention already decided. Stronger than 〜ようと思う, which is still being weighed up.
Not used for things outside your control — you cannot 雨が降るつもりだ.
来年、車を買うつもりです。
I intend to buy a car next year.
let's ~, I think I'll ~
五段 -u → -ou · 一段 -る → -よう · する → しよう · 来る → 来よう
The plain-form equivalent of 〜ましょう. On its own it is a casual suggestion to someone close to you.
With と思っています it states your own intention: 留学しようと思っています — "I'm thinking of studying abroad." That pattern is far more common on the exam than the bare form.
来年、日本へ行こうと思っています。
I'm thinking of going to Japan next year.
make an effort to, try to make it so
V-plain / V-ない + ようにする
A deliberate effort, usually ongoing. 毎日運動するようにしています — "I make a point of exercising daily."
The pair to remember: ようになる is a change that happens to you, ようにする is a change you choose.
野菜を食べるようにしています。
I make a point of eating vegetables.
Confused with たら vs ば vs と vs なら
whenever ~, if ~ (always)
V-plain / い-adj / N・な-adj + だ + と
For results that always follow — natural laws, machines, directions, habits. "Do A and B inevitably happens."
The restriction is the exam point: the second half cannot be a request, invitation, permission or command. 春になると暖かくなります is fine; ×春になると出かけてください is not.
春になると、桜が咲きます。
When spring comes, the cherry blossoms bloom.
Confused with たら vs ば vs と vs なら
if it's the case that ~, if you mean ~
N / な-adj / V-plain + なら
Picks up something the other person just said and responds to it. 京都へ行くなら、バスが便利ですよ — "if you're going to Kyoto (as you say), the bus is handy."
Unlike たら, the なら clause can happen *after* the main clause: you give the advice before they travel.
日本語を勉強するなら、この本がいいですよ。
If you're going to study Japanese, this book is good.
Confused with たら vs ば vs と vs なら
V1(た形)り + V2(た形)り + する
Lists representative actions without implying order or completeness.
休みの日は本を読んだり、音楽を聞いたりします。
On days off I do things like reading and listening to music.
doing things like ~ and ~
V-た + り + V-た + り + する
Lists example activities without implying order or completeness — unlike 〜て which puts actions in sequence.
The closing する carries the tense: 〜たりしました for the past.
週末は本を読んだり、映画を見たりします。
At weekends I read, watch films, that sort of thing.