N5 · Verbs
The te-form
building the form in て and で
One form that links verbs, asks politely and carries a dozen later patterns, built by rules that depend on the last kana.
The te-form ends in て or で and on its own has no tense and no politeness. It is the hinge of Japanese grammar: it joins actions in sequence (起きて、顔を洗います), makes requests (待ってください), and is the base of ている, てもいい, てしまう and many more. Learning it well is learning a large part of the grammar still to come.
る-verbs and the two irregulars are easy: drop る and add て (食べて, 見て); する becomes して and 来る becomes 来て. う-verbs change their last kana, and the change depends only on which kana it is: う, つ and る give って; む, ぶ and ぬ give んで; く gives いて; ぐ gives いで; す gives して.
Those five lines are the whole system, with one exception: 行く ends in く and should give いて, but its te-form is 行って. Every other verb follows its kana — which also means that the group matters. 帰る is a う-verb and gives 帰って, while the る-verb 着る gives 着て. In the table the coloured stem is everything before て or で, with the sound change already made.
English speakers usually think of the te-form as "-ing" or as "and", and both translations mislead. A chain of te-forms takes its tense from the last verb alone: 朝起きて、走りました is "I got up and went running", with both actions in the past, although 起きて has no past in it.
The form
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending
| buy: う gives って | 買って |
| wait: つ gives って | 待って |
| go home: る gives って | 帰って |
| drink: む gives んで | 飲んで |
| play: ぶ gives んで | 遊んで |
| write: く gives いて | 書いて |
| swim: ぐ gives いで | 泳いで |
| speak: す gives して | 話して |
| go: the one exception | 行って |
| eat (る-verb) | 食べて |
| see (る-verb) | 見て |
| do (irregular) | して |
| come (irregular) | 来て |
The rules one by one
A う-verb ending in う, つ or る takes って.
ここで少し待ってください。Please wait here a moment.
A う-verb ending in む, ぶ or ぬ takes んで.
薬を飲んで、寝ました。I took the medicine and went to bed.
A う-verb ending in く takes いて, one in ぐ takes いで, and one in す takes して.
手紙を書いて、出しました。I wrote a letter and posted it.
A る-verb drops る and adds て; する and 来る become して and 来て.
友達がうちに来て、一緒に勉強しました。A friend came round and we studied together.
行く is the only exception: 行って.
銀行に行って、お金を下ろしました。I went to the bank and took out some money.
A closer look
Why the te-form changes the sound
The rules look arbitrary until you hear what they avoid. Older Japanese simply put て after the ます-stem: kakite, yomite, machite. Over centuries of everyday speech these were worn down into easier sequences — kaite, yonde, matte — and the worn forms became the standard. The same wear produced the ta-form, which is why the two always change in the same way.
That is also why the rules group the kana as they do. む, ぶ, ぬ and ぐ all have a nasal or voiced consonant, and it survives as the voicing of で; す kept its old shape, 話して, because shite was already easy to say.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb is 行く, or a phrase ending in it
the te-form is 行って, not the いて its kana would give.
明日東京に行って、友達に会います。Tomorrow I will go to Tokyo and meet a friend.
It is the most frequent verb ending in く, and frequent words are the ones that keep or develop irregular forms — English "go" and "went" are the same story.
How to spot it
- 〜て
- 〜で
- 〜って
- 〜んで
- 〜いて
- 〜いで
- 〜して
- 〜てください
Example sentences
毎朝シャワーを浴びて、朝ご飯を食べます。Every morning I have a shower and then breakfast.
名前をここに書いてください。Please write your name here.
公園で子どもと遊んで、家に帰りました。I played with the children in the park and went home.
日曜日は海で泳いで、魚を食べました。On Sunday I swam in the sea and ate fish.
駅まで走って、電車に乗りました。I ran to the station and caught the train.
先生は今、電話で話しています。The teacher is on the phone at the moment.
7 more example sentences
ちょっと待ってください。Just a moment, please.
窓を開けて、部屋を掃除しました。I opened the window and cleaned the room.
バスを降りて、右に曲がってください。Get off the bus and turn right, please.
朝起きて、すぐ顔を洗います。I wash my face as soon as I get up.
雑誌を読んで、コーヒーを飲みました。I read a magazine and had a coffee.
妹は大学で日本語を勉強しています。My younger sister is studying Japanese at university.
急いで来てください。Please come quickly.
Worth knowing (1)
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The te-form has no tense of its own
In a chain of te-forms only the last verb carries tense and politeness. 起きて、食べて、出かけます is "I get up, eat and go out"; change only the last verb to 出かけました and the whole chain is in the past. English marks every verb; Japanese marks the sentence once, at the end.
昨日は買い物をして、映画を見て、帰りました。Yesterday I did some shopping, saw a film and went home.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
By the rule, a verb ending in く takes いて, and learners who have learned the rule well apply it to 行く. It is the single exception: 行って. Phrases built on it follow it too — 持って行って "take it with you and…".
う, つ, る give って; む, ぶ, ぬ give んで; く gives いて, ぐ gives いで, す gives して — and いく gives いって.
Your turn
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