～ます – Polite Present and Past Verb Forms in Japanese [JLPT N5]

Quick Summary

• Meaning: The endings ～ます／～ません／～ました／～ませんでした make verbs polite in Japanese (present/future and past, positive and negative).
• How to Use: Take the verb stem (V-stem) and add the correct polite ending to match the time (now/past) and yes/no meaning.

Example:

• 猫はコーヒーを飲みません。
• Neko wa koohii o nomimasen.
• The cat does not drink coffee.

Overview

When you start speaking Japanese, one of the first big choices you meet is: polite form or casual form. The endings ～ます／～ません／～ました／～ませんでした are the basic way to make verbs polite. They are used in textbooks, news, announcements, and in most conversations with people you are not very close to.

In English, you show politeness with words like “please” and “thank you,” or by changing your tone. In Japanese, you also change the verb itself. For example, the dictionary form 食べる (taberu, to eat) becomes 食べます (tabemasu, eat) when you want to sound polite.

These endings tell you two important things:

• Time – Is it about now/the future (non-past) or the past?
• Polarity – Is it positive (do/did) or negative (do not/did not)?

Here is the basic meaning:

• V-ます – polite, non-past, positive (I do / I will do)
• V-ません – polite, non-past, negative (I do not / I will not do)
• V-ました – polite, past, positive (I did)
• V-ませんでした – polite, past, negative (I did not)

Use these polite forms when you are speaking to:

• teachers, bosses, and coworkers
• people you just met
• staff in shops, restaurants, and stations
• most people, if you are not sure which level is OK

With close friends or family, Japanese people often use casual forms like 食べる (taberu, eat) or 食べない (tabenai, not eat), but as a beginner, it is safer to live in the polite world first. If you always use ～ます and ～ました, you will sound respectful and friendly, never rude.

Even if the subject (I, you, he, she, etc.) is not said in Japanese, the polite verb ending makes the sentence feel soft and respectful. For example, in a café you can simply say:

• ケーキを食べます。
• Keeki o tabemasu.
• I will eat cake. / I’ll have cake.

There is no “I,” but the polite ending already makes it sound nice and appropriate.

Structure / Formation

To use ～ます／～ません／～ました／～ませんでした, you first need the V-stem (also called the “ます-stem”). Then you add the polite endings.

Basic Formula

• V-stem + ます
• V-stem + ません
• V-stem + ました
• V-stem + ませんでした

Here, V-stem means the part of the verb that comes before ます in the polite form.

Finding the V-stem (ます-stem)

At JLPT N5 level, the easiest way to find the V-stem is:

• Start from the dictionary form V-る (for example, 食べる, 飲む, 行く).
• Change it to the polite form with ます (this is the form you will usually memorize).
• The part before ます is the V-stem.

Examples:

• 食べる (taberu, to eat) → 食べます (tabemasu, eat) → V-stem: 食べ
• 飲む (nomu, to drink) → 飲みます (nomimasu, drink) → V-stem: 飲み
• 行く (iku, to go) → 行きます (ikimasu, go) → V-stem: 行き
• 見る (miru, to see) → 見ます (mimasu, see) → V-stem: 見
• 来る (kuru, to come) → 来ます (kimasu, come) → V-stem: 来
• する (suru, to do) → します (shimasu, do) → V-stem: し

Once you know the V-stem, the rest is just adding the correct ending.

Conjugation Pattern

Here is the basic pattern for polite verb endings:

Form	Ending	Meaning
Polite non-past positive	V-stem + ます	do / will do
Polite non-past negative	V-stem + ません	do not / will not do
Polite past positive	V-stem + ました	did
Polite past negative	V-stem + ませんでした	did not

Let’s see how this works with one very common verb, 食べる (taberu, to eat).

Dictionary (V-る)	V-stem	Polite form	Meaning
食べる taberu	食べ	食べます	eat / will eat
		食べません	do not eat / will not eat
		食べました	ate
		食べませんでした	did not eat

Another very useful verb is する (suru, to do):

Dictionary (V-る)	V-stem	Polite form	Meaning
する suru	し	します	do / will do
		しません	do not do / will not do
		しました	did
		しませんでした	did not do

Using ます-forms in Sentences

In real sentences, you simply put the ます-form at the end. Japanese sentences usually end with the main verb, so the polite ending is the last thing you hear.

Basic sentence pattern (polite):

• Person は N を V-ます。

Example:

• おじいさんはアイドルの動画を見ます。
• Ojiisan wa aidoru no douga o mimasu.
• Grandpa watches idol videos.

You can also use time or place words:

• Time に Place へ／に V-ます。

Example:

• 朝６時に宇宙人は公園へ来ます。
• Asa roku-ji ni uchuujin wa kouen e kimasu.
• At six in the morning, aliens come to the park.

Non-past vs. Past in Polite Form

In Japanese, the non-past forms (ます／ません) cover both “present” and “future.” Context tells you if it is “do” or “will do.”

• V-ます – “I do” / “I will do”
• V-ません – “I do not” / “I will not”

Example:

• 明日、先生はゲームをします。
• Ashita, sensei wa geemu o shimasu.
• Tomorrow, the teacher will play games.

For the past, you use ました／ませんでした.

• V-ました – “I did”
• V-ませんでした – “I did not”

Example:

• 昨日、ロボットはねこじたでスープを飲みませんでした。
• Kinou, robotto wa nekojita de suupu o nomimasen deshita.
• Yesterday, the robot did not drink the soup because it had a “cat tongue.” (It could not drink hot things.)

Quick Reference Table (One Verb, Four Polite Forms)

For fast review, here is the pattern with 飲む (nomu, to drink).

English	Japanese	Romaji
drink / will drink	飲みます	nomimasu
do not drink / will not drink	飲みません	nomimasen
drank	飲みました	nomimashita
did not drink	飲みませんでした	nomimasen deshita

Usage Tips

Here are some practical tips to help you use these forms confidently:

• Memorize whole ます-forms like 食べます (tabemasu, eat), 行きます (ikimasu, go), します (shimasu, do) first. Then learn to “swap” ます for ません／ました／ませんでした.
• Remember that です is the polite ending for nouns and adjectives, and ます is the polite ending for verbs. For example, 学生です (gakusei desu, (I) am a student) vs. 勉強します (benkyou shimasu, (I) study).
• In everyday beginner Japanese, it is totally fine if you use polite forms all the time. Native speakers will think you are careful and polite.

Example Sentences

• 毎朝７時に、ペンギンの社長は会社へ行きます。
• Maiasa shichi-ji ni, pengin no shachou wa kaisha e ikimasu.
• Every morning at seven, the penguin company president goes to the office.

• 私はダイエット中ですが、夜にラーメンを食べません。
• Watashi wa daietto-chuu desu ga, yoru ni raamen o tabemasen.
• I am on a diet, so I do not eat ramen at night.

• 昨日、うちの冷蔵庫は一人でパーティーをしました。
• Kinou, uchi no reizouko wa hitori de paatii o shimashita.
• Yesterday, our fridge had a party by itself.

• 先週、先生はテストをしませんでしたから、みんなとてもハッピーでした。
• Senshuu, sensei wa tesuto o shimasen deshita kara, minna totemo happii deshita.
• Last week, the teacher did not give a test, so everyone was very happy.

• 明日、火星から来た犬は日本語であいさつをします。
• Ashita, Kasei kara kita inu wa Nihongo de aisatsu o shimasu.
• Tomorrow, the dog from Mars will greet us in Japanese.

Quick Practice

(Answers and explanations are right under this section.)

Multiple-Choice

1. Choose the correct polite present sentence: “Every night, the ghost drinks milk.”

• A. 毎晩、おばけは牛乳を飲みました。(Maiban, obake wa gyuunyuu o nomimashita.)
• B. 毎晩、おばけは牛乳を飲みませんでした。(Maiban, obake wa gyuunyuu o nomimasen deshita.)
• C. 毎晩、おばけは牛乳を飲みます。(Maiban, obake wa gyuunyuu o nomimasu.)
• D. 毎晩、おばけは牛乳や飲みます。(Maiban, obake wa gyuunyuu ya nomimasu.)

2. Choose the correct polite negative present sentence: “I do not watch TV in the morning.”

• A. 朝、私はテレビを見ません。(Asa, watashi wa terebi o mimasen.)
• B. 朝、私はテレビを見ませんでした。(Asa, watashi wa terebi o mimasen deshita.)
• C. 朝、私はテレビと見ます。(Asa, watashi wa terebi to mimasu.)
• D. 朝、私はテレビを見ました。(Asa, watashi wa terebi o mimashita.)

3. Choose the correct polite past sentence: “Yesterday, the turtle ran fast.”

• A. 昨日、かめは速く走りません。(Kinou, kame wa hayaku hashirimasen.)
• B. 昨日、かめは速く走りました。(Kinou, kame wa hayaku hashirimashita.)
• C. 昨日、かめは速く走ります。(Kinou, kame wa hayaku hashirimasu.)
• D. 昨日、かめは速く走りませんでした。(Kinou, kame wa hayaku hashirimasen deshita.)

4. Choose the correct polite past negative sentence: “Last week, my dog did not go to school.”

• A. 先週、私の犬は学校へ行きませんでした。(Senshuu, watashi no inu wa gakkou e ikimasen deshita.)
• B. 先週、私の犬は学校へ行きません。(Senshuu, watashi no inu wa gakkou e ikimasen.)
• C. 先週、私の犬は学校へ行きました。(Senshuu, watashi no inu wa gakkou e ikimashita.)
• D. 先週、私の犬は学校を行きませんでした。(Senshuu, watashi no inu wa gakkou o ikimasen deshita.)

5. Choose the best polite sentence: “Tomorrow, the robot will not study Japanese with me.”

• A. 明日、ロボットは私と日本語を勉強しません。(Ashita, robotto wa watashi to Nihongo o benkyou shimasen.)
• B. 明日、ロボットは私と日本語を勉強しませんでした。(Ashita, robotto wa watashi to Nihongo o benkyou shimasen deshita.)
• C. 明日、ロボットは私と日本語と勉強します。(Ashita, robotto wa watashi to Nihongo to benkyou shimasu.)
• D. 明日、ロボットは私と日本語を勉強しますでした。(Ashita, robotto wa watashi to Nihongo o benkyou shimasu deshita.)

Spot-the-Error

6. One sentence has a mistake in the ます-form. Which one is wrong?

• A. 今日、ドラゴンはパソコンを使います。(Kyou, doragon wa pasokon o tsukaimasu.)
• B. 今日、ドラゴンはパソコンを使いませんでした。(Kyou, doragon wa pasokon o tsukai masen deshita.)
• C. 今日、ドラゴンはパソコンを使ません。(Kyou, doragon wa pasokon o tsukamasen.)

7. One sentence has a mistake with past vs. non-past. Which one is wrong for the time word in the sentence?

• A. 明日、宇宙人はバスで学校へ行きます。(Ashita, uchuujin wa basu de gakkou e ikimasu.)
• B. 昨日、宇宙人はバスで学校へ行きました。(Kinou, uchuujin wa basu de gakkou e ikimashita.)
• C. 昨日、宇宙人はバスで学校へ行きます。(Kinou, uchuujin wa basu de gakkou e ikimasu.)

Translation

8. Translate into Japanese (polite): “Every morning, my cat drinks coffee.”

9. Translate into Japanese (polite): “Last night, I did not eat cake.”

10. Translate into Japanese (polite): “On Sundays, Grandpa plays games with the kids.”

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Answers and Explanations

1. C. 毎晩、おばけは牛乳を飲みます。(Maiban, obake wa gyuunyuu o nomimasu.) — Uses the polite non-past positive form 飲みます to match “drinks” as a regular action.
2. A. 朝、私はテレビを見ません。(Asa, watashi wa terebi o mimasen.) — 見ません is the polite non-past negative form, which matches “do not watch.”
3. B. 昨日、かめは速く走りました。(Kinou, kame wa hayaku hashirimashita.) — 走りました is the polite past positive form, matching “ran” with 昨日 (yesterday).
4. A. 先週、私の犬は学校へ行きませんでした。(Senshuu, watashi no inu wa gakkou e ikimasen deshita.) — 行きませんでした is the polite past negative form, matching “did not go.”
5. A. 明日、ロボットは私と日本語を勉強しません。(Ashita, robotto wa watashi to Nihongo o benkyou shimasen.) — しません is the polite non-past negative form, which fits the future time word 明日 with “will not study.”
6. C. 今日、ドラゴンはパソコンを使ません。(Kyou, doragon wa pasokon o tsukamasen.) — The negative ます-form must be 使いません, so 使ません is incorrect.
7. C. 昨日、宇宙人はバスで学校へ行きます。(Kinou, uchuujin wa basu de gakkou e ikimasu.) — 昨日 (yesterday) needs a past form, so 行きました, not non-past 行きます.
8. 毎朝、私の猫はコーヒーを飲みます。(Maiasa, watashi no neko wa koohii o nomimasu.) — Uses the polite non-past positive 飲みます for a regular habit “drinks.”
9. 昨夜、私はケーキを食べませんでした。(Sakuya, watashi wa keeki o tabemasen deshita.) — 食べませんでした is the polite past negative form, matching “did not eat.”
10. 日曜日に、おじいさんは子どもたちとゲームをします。(Nichiyoubi ni, ojiisan wa kodomotachi to geemu o shimasu.) — します is the polite non-past positive form for the repeated action “plays” on Sundays.