Mastering the Japanese て-Form: Verb Groups, Rules, and Usage

2024年11月7日 2024年11月7日

Contents

1 1. Introduction
2 2. Understanding Verb Groups in Japanese
3 3. What is the て-Form?
4 4. How to Form the て-Form for Each Verb Group
- 4.1 Method 1: Forming the て-Form from the Dictionary Form (e.g., のむ)
- 4.2 Method 2: Forming the て-Form from the ます Form (e.g., 飲みます)
  - 4.2.1 For learners who learned the ます form first:
5 5. Sample Sentences
6 6. Common Uses of the て-Form

1. Introduction

Begin with a brief explanation of what the て-form is and why it’s essential in Japanese. You can explain that it’s one of the fundamental forms that learners must master, as it’s used in various grammatical structures like requests, commands, and to connect sentences.

2. Understanding Verb Groups in Japanese

Japanese verbs are divided into three main groups, which affect how the て-form is created. Here’s an overview of each group, with example verbs. For students familiar with verbs in the ます form, you’ll find verbs listed with their ます endings as well.

Group 1 (U-Verbs):
U-Verbs, also called "Godan verbs," end in a sound from the "u" row in hiragana (e.g., 〜む, 〜ぶ, 〜う). In their ます form, these verbs end with 〜ます.Examples:
- のむ (to drink) → のみます
- かく (to write) → かきます
- はなす (to speak) → はなします
- たつ (to stand) → たちます
When converting these to the て-form, follow specific patterns based on the verb ending, which will be detailed later in the article.
Group 2 (RU-Verbs):
Also called "Ichidan verbs," these verbs usually end in 〜る preceded by an "i" or "e" sound. In their ます form, they end with 〜ます, making them easy to identify.Examples:
- たべる (to eat) → たべます
- みる (to see) → みます
- おきる (to wake up) → おきます
- おしえる (to teach) → おしえます
For these verbs, creating the て-form is simple: just replace る with て (e.g., たべる becomes たべて).
Group 3 (Irregular Verbs):
This small group includes only two frequently used verbs, する and くる, which don’t follow standard conjugation rules. In their ます form, they end with します and きます.Examples:
- する (to do) → します
- くる (to come) → きます

Each of these groups has its own pattern for the て-form, so it’s essential to recognize which group a verb belongs to. In the next section, we’ll look at the rules for changing each group’s verbs into the て-form.

3. What is the て-Form?

The て-form is the verb conjugation ending in “て” or “で” that allows verbs to connect with other forms. Explain that it functions similarly to “-ing” in English for connecting ideas and expressing sequence, requests, permissions, or prohibitions.

4. How to Form the て-Form for Each Verb Group

In Japanese, there are two common ways to form the て-form, depending on which form you start with: the dictionary form (e.g., のむ) or the ます form (e.g., のみます). Here, both methods are explained to help all learners.

Method 1: Forming the て-Form from the Dictionary Form (e.g., のむ)

For those familiar with the dictionary form, here are the patterns for each group:

Group 1 (U-Verbs): The ending of the verb changes as follows:
- Verbs ending in う, つ, or る → って (e.g., あう → あって; まつ → まって; とる → とって).
- Verbs ending in む, ぶ, or ぬ → んで (e.g., よむ → よんで; あそぶ → あそんで; しぬ → しんで).
- Verbs ending in く → いて, with an exception for いく (which becomes いって) (e.g., かく → かいて; いく → いって).
- Verbs ending in ぐ → いで (e.g., およぐ → およいで).
- Verbs ending in す → して (e.g., はなす → はなして).

Group 2 (RU-Verbs):
- Change る to て (e.g., たべる → たべて; みる → みて).

Group 3 (Irregular Verbs):
- する becomes して.
- くる becomes きて.

Method 2: Forming the て-Form from the ます Form (e.g., 飲みます)

For those who learned verbs starting from the ます form, use the following guide. Simply remove the ます and add the て-form ending based on the verb’s final sound before ます:

For learners who learned the ます form first:

Group 1 (U-Verbs):
- Verbs with 〜い, 〜ち, or 〜り ending before ます → って (e.g., あいます → あって; まちます → まって; とります → とって).
- Verbs with 〜み, 〜び, or 〜に before ます → んで (e.g., よみます → よんで; あそびます → あそんで; しにます → しんで).
- Verbs with 〜き before ます → いて (e.g., かきます → かいて), except いきます becomes いって.
- Verbs with 〜ぎ before ます → いで (e.g., およぎます → およいで).
- Verbs with 〜し before ます → して (e.g., はなします → はなして).