JLPT N5

ました

Polite past

Structure

Verb stem ました

How it works

The auxiliary verb 'ました' (mashita) is used to express the polite past tense of verbs. It is formed by taking the verb stem (the part before 'masu') and adding 'mashita'. It indicates that an action was completed in the past.

Examples

昨日、日本語を勉強しました。

I studied Japanese yesterday.

朝ごはんは、パンを食べました。

I ate bread for breakfast.

六時に起きました。

I woke up at six o'clock.

Common mistakes

Do not use 'ました' with adjectives or nouns; it is strictly for the polite past tense of verbs.

Tip

To turn a 'ました' sentence into a question, simply add the particle 'か' at the end, as in '食べましたか' (Did you eat?).

More JLPT N5 grammar

はがをにでものと

See ました in real Japanese

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