Talking About the Past

Japanese Basic Conversation 2

Chapter 9 · Talking About the Past: Yesterday & Last Weekend

⏪ Talking About the Past — かこの はなし

Until now you have talked about the present and the near future. This chapter opens the past. You will learn the past tense of verbs (〜ました and 〜ませんでした), of nouns and な-adjectives (〜でした), and of い-adjectives (〜かったです). With the time words きのう ("yesterday"), せんしゅう ("last week") and 〜まえ ("ago"), you can tell someone what you did yesterday, how last weekend was, and where you went on holiday. Each dialog has a Hard words note instead of a romaji line.

① Yesterday — きのう

A: What did you do yesterday?
B: I went shopping.
A: Where did you go?
B: I went to Shibuya.
A: What did you buy?
B: I bought two shirts.
Hard words: きのう kinō · しました shimashita · いきました ikimashita · かいました kaimashita · しぶや Shibuya · シャツ shatsu

② Last Weekend — せんしゅうの しゅうまつ

A: What did you do last weekend?
B: I saw a film with a friend.
A: How was it?
B: It was very good.
A: I'm glad.
B: Yes. But the popcorn was a bit expensive.
Hard words: せんしゅう senshū · おもしろかったです omoshirokatta desu · よかったですね yokatta desu ne · ポップコーン poppukōn · たかかったです takakatta desu

③ Saying No — いいえ、〜ませんでした

A: Did you go to work yesterday?
B: No, I didn't. It was a day off.
A: Was the weather good?
B: No, it rained. It wasn't very good.
A: That's a pity.
Hard words: いきませんでした ikimasen deshita · やすみでした yasumi deshita · よくなかったです yokunakatta desu · ざんねん zannen

④ A Trip — りょこう

A: When did you go to Japan?
B: I went three years ago.
A: Where did you go?
B: Kyoto and Osaka.
A: How was the trip?
B: Everything was beautiful. The food was delicious too.
Hard words: いつ itsu · さんねんまえ san-nen mae · りょこう ryokō · ぜんぶ zenbu · たべもの tabemono · おいしかったです oishikatta desu

⑤ This Morning — けさ

A: What time did you get up this morning?
B: At six thirty.
A: Did you eat breakfast?
B: No, I didn't. I didn't have time.
A: That sounds rough.
Hard words: けさ kesa · たべませんでした tabemasen deshita · ありませんでした arimasen deshita · たいへん taihen

⑥ Between Friends (casual) — ともだちと

A: What did you do yesterday?
B: I watched a film.
A: Was it good?
B: Yeah, it was great!
Hard words: した shita (plain past of する) · みた mita (plain past of みる) · おもしろかった omoshirokatta (plain past)

🔑 Key Phrases — だいじな ひょうげん

EnglishPolite (です / ます)Casual (friends)
What did you do yesterday?
Kinō nani o shimashita ka.
Kinō nani shita?
I went shopping.
Kaimono o shimashita.
Kaimono shita.
I didn't go.
Ikimasen deshita.
Ikanakatta.
How was it?
Dō deshita ka.
Dō datta?
It was fun.
Tanoshikatta desu.
Tanoshikatta.
That's a pity.
Zannen deshita ne.
Zannen!

🔤 Three Verbs — どうし

Weekend verbs. The plain form is for recognition for now.

VerbPolite (present)PastPlain (dictionary)
to play; to hang out (あそぶ)
asobimasu
asobimashita
asobu
to swim (およぐ)
oyogimasu
oyogimashita
oyogu
to walk (あるく)
arukimasu
arukimashita
aruku

🧰 Grammar Tools — ぶんぽう

1. Verbs: 〜ました and 〜ませんでした

The past of every polite verb is made by changing 〜ます to 〜ました. The negative past is 〜ませんでした. Questions add か. It is wonderfully regular: there are no exceptions among polite forms.

VerbPresentPastPast negative
eat
tabemashita
tabemasen deshita
go
ikimashita
ikimasen deshita
see
mimashita
mimasen deshita
do
shimashita
shimasen deshita
there is (things)
arimashita
arimasen deshita

Answer a 〜ましたか question with はい、〜ました or いいえ、〜ませんでした.

2. Nouns and な-adjectives: 〜でした

です becomes でした in the past, and the negative じゃ ありません becomes じゃ ありませんでした:

FormPresentPast
noun, positive
ame deshita
noun, negative
ame ja arimasen deshita
な-adjective, positive
kirei deshita
な-adjective, negative
shizuka ja arimasen deshita

3. い-adjectives: 〜かったです

An い-adjective changes its own ending: 〜い → 〜かった, then です for politeness. The negative past is 〜くなかった, built on the negative of Chapter 4 (〜くない).

AdjectivePresentPastPast negative
expensive
takakatta desu
takakunakatta desu
delicious
oishikatta desu
oishikunakatta desu
fun
tanoshikatta desu
tanoshikunakatta desu
hot (weather)
atsukatta desu
atsukunakatta desu
good (exception)
yokatta desu
yokunakatta desu
Watch out: do not use でした after an い-adjective たかかったです is right; たかいでした is wrong, even though English speakers feel that "was" must be marked by でした. The past is in the adjective itself. Remember also that いい becomes よかった, exactly as it became よくない in Chapter 4.

4. Time words for the past

WordMeaningNotes
kinōyesterday
ototoithe day before yesterday
kesathis morning
yūbelast night
senshūlast week
sengetsulast month
kyonenlast year
... mae ni... ago three years ago; an hour ago

Words such as きのう, けさ and せんしゅう take no に, exactly like きょう and あした in Chapter 1. 〜まえ usually takes に.

5. Going somewhere to do something

You already know (Chapter 3). To say why you went, put the purpose before に: "I went shopping." With a verb, use the ます-stem (the verb without ます): "I went to see a film." (You met this pattern in the casual dialog of Chapter 3: えいがを みに いかない?)

📖 Vocabulary — ごい

20 key words for talking about the past.

#JapaneseRomajiEnglishType
1kinōyesterdaynoun
2ototoithe day before yesterdaynoun
3kesathis morningnoun
4yūbelast nightnoun
5senshūlast weeknoun
6sengetsulast monthnoun
7kyonenlast yearnoun
8... mae... ago; beforenoun
9zenbuall, everythingnoun
10ryokōtrip, travelnoun
11tabemonofoodnoun
12shatsushirtnoun
13taihenhard, tough; seriousna-adj.
14jikantimenoun
15asobimasuplay; hang outverb
16oyogimasuswimverb
17arukimasuwalkverb
18yokattait was good; I'm gladi-adj.
19zannena pity, regrettablena-adj.
20sakkia little while agonoun
Real Japanese Tip — "How Was Your Weekend?" On Monday morning in a Japanese office, a very common opening is The usual answer is short and modest: のんびり しました ("I took it easy") or ともだちと あそびました. Colleagues react with いいですね or よかったですね. Do not answer with a long list; a sentence or two is the right size.
Real Japanese Tip — おみやげ If you have been on a trip, it is an expected courtesy to bring back おみやげ (omiyage), small boxed local sweets for colleagues and neighbours. Handing them over starts the "how was it?" conversation: / Stations and airports sell them in neat individually wrapped pieces for exactly this purpose.
Real Japanese Tip — The Casual Past in One Line Among friends the past is shorter: した, みた, たべた, いった instead of しました, みました, たべました, いきました; and the adjective drops the です: おもしろかった. You can already understand this from the casual dialog; the rules for building it come in Japanese Basic Conversation 3.
Kanji Spotlight — 前 先 前 (mae, zen) means before, front: 三年前 (sannen mae, three years ago). 先 (saki, sen) means previous, ahead, and gives the "last" words: 先週 (senshū, last week) and 先月 (sengetsu, last month). Have a look: 前 ▸ (the page for 先 is not on the site yet).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say "I ate sushi yesterday."

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2. Say "I didn't go to the party."

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3. Say "The film was very good."

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4. Say "The hotel wasn't expensive."

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5. Say "It was quiet."

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6. Say "I went to Kyoto three years ago."

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Coming Up in Chapter 10 Phone calls and appointments: もしもし, 〜です to say who is calling, でんわばんごう, making a booking with よやく, 〜ています (a first look at "now"), and spelling your name in katakana.