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The Mashita-Form

In Japanese, verbs ending in mashita (ました) are in the polite, past affirmative. The mashita-form is the past tense of the masu-form (see below).

As a member of the masu-form, verbs ending in mashita are considered polite, and are safe for every day use with strangers, new acquaintances and superiors in Japan.

Conjugating the Polite Negative​

If you know a verb in its masu-form, then creating the mashita-form is easy. Simply remove the ます and add ました.

If you do not know the masu-form, then check out this article on how to conjugate from the plain form to the masu-form.

The Masu-Form​

The basic conjugations of the masu-form are these:

AffirmativeNegative
Non-pastverb + ますverb + ません
Pastverb + ましたverb + ませんでした

See Also​

Example Sentences​

  • お邪魔しました。
    Sorry to have interrupted you.

  • 頑張りました。
    I worked hard.

  • あなたの気が変わるのではないかと思っていました。
    I thought that you might have a change of heart.

  • 天ぷらの作りかたを本で読みました。
    I read about how to make tempura in a book.

  • 彼らはバスを降り、炎天下をニキロ歩きました。
    They got out of the bus and walked two kilometres in the hot sun.

  • 昔々ギリシャに偉大な王様が住んでいました。
    Once upon a time, there lived a great king in Greece.