This is the full reference paradigm for a godan verb ending in -す, built on 話す（はなす, "to speak, to talk"）. The -す group has a distinction no other godan group shares: it takes no euphonic sound-change (音便) whatsoever in the te-form and past. Where う・つ・る double into っ, く・ぐ soften to い, and む・ぶ・ぬ nasalize to ん, す-verbs simply attach て／た to the ます-stem 話し — giving 話して／話した with nothing added and nothing lost. If any godan group deserves to be called "regular," it is this one.
The stem walks the s-column
話す sits on the s-column. The s is fixed; only the vowel changes. Note that the い-row of the s-column is spelled し (shi), not ×すぃ:
- あ-row → 話さ (sa) — negative, causative, passive
- い-row → 話し (shi) — polite ます-stem, and the te-form base
- う-row → 話す (su) — dictionary
- え-row → 話せ (se) — potential, conditional, imperative
- お-row → 話そ (so) — volitional
母とは毎日電話で話す。
haha to wa mainichi denwa de hanasu
I talk with my mom on the phone every day.
彼女は三か国語も話せる。
kanojo wa sankakokugo mo hanaseru
She can speak three languages, no less.
The full paradigm — 話す
| Form | 話す (to speak) | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary (plain non-past) | 話す | hanasu |
| Polite 〜ます | 話します | hanashimasu |
| Plain negative 〜ない | 話さない | hanasanai |
| Polite negative 〜ません | 話しません | hanashimasen |
| Plain past 〜た | 話した | hanashita |
| Plain past-negative 〜なかった | 話さなかった | hanasanakatta |
| Te-form 〜て | 話して | hanashite |
| Potential (can) | 話せる | hanaseru |
| Passive (受身) | 話される | hanasareru |
| Causative (使役) | 話させる | hanasaseru |
| Causative-passive | 話させられる | hanasaserareru |
| Volitional 〜そう | 話そう | hanasō |
| Conditional 〜ば | 話せば | hanaseba |
| Conditional 〜たら | 話したら | hanashitara |
| Imperative (plain command) | 話せ | hanase |
| Prohibitive (negative command) | 話すな | hanasu na |
もう少し大きい声で話してください。
mō sukoshi ōkii koe de hanashite kudasai
Please speak a little louder.
昨日、部長と少しだけ話した。
kinō, buchō to sukoshi dake hanashita
Yesterday I talked with the department head for just a bit.
The te-form: 話す → 話して (no 音便)
The reason nothing changes is worth understanding, because it turns a memorized fact into an obvious one. The te-form historically attaches to the ます-stem (連用形), and for a す-verb that stem already ends in し — a sound that sits perfectly comfortably before て. There is no awkward cluster to smooth, so the language leaves it alone:
話す → 話し（ます-stem） → 話し + て → 話して
The other groups only change because their stems (書き, 買い, 飲み) would clash with て; す-verbs never do. This gives the group a unique shortcut: for a す-verb, te-form = polite form minus ます, plus て.
| Dictionary | Polite (ます) | te-form |
|---|---|---|
| 話す | 話します | 話して |
| 貸す | 貸します | 貸して |
| 返す | 返します | 返して |
| 出す | 出します | 出して |
That shortcut fails for every other group (書きます would wrongly predict ×書きて), but for す-verbs it is exact. The past is identical bar the vowel: 話して ↔ 話した. See Godan す → して.
ちょっとペン貸して。あとで返すから。
chotto pen kashite. ato de kaesu kara
Lend me a pen for a sec — I'll give it back later.
宿題は金曜までに出してくださいね。
shukudai wa kin'yō made ni dashite kudasai ne
Please hand in the homework by Friday, okay?
ちゃんと事情を話せば、きっと分かってくれる。
chanto jijō o hanaseba, kitto wakatte kureru
If you explain the situation properly, they'll surely understand.
The quirk: す-verbs have no contracted causative-passive
Here is the one place -す diverges from its siblings, and it is a subtle, genuinely useful point. Most godan verbs offer a contracted causative-passive: 書かせられる → 書かされる, 飲ませられる → 飲まされる, 会わせられる → 会わされる. The contraction 〜せられる → 〜される is the everyday spoken form.
す-verbs are blocked from this contraction. The causative stem already ends in さ (話さ-), so a contracted 〜される would produce the clumsy double-さ ×話さされる — and the language refuses it. So the only causative-passive of 話す is the full 話させられる; there is no short form. (This also keeps it from colliding with the passive 話される.)
会議で無理やり意見を話させられた。
kaigi de muriyari iken o hanasaserareta
I was forced to give my opinion at the meeting.
More す-verbs in action
The whole group behaves identically — swap す for して, さ, せ, そ as needed. These are all extremely common:
寝る前に電気を消してね。
neru mae ni denki o keshite ne
Turn off the light before you go to sleep, okay?
鍵をなくして、朝からずっと探している。
kagi o nakushite, asa kara zutto sagashite iru
I lost my keys and I've been searching for them all morning.
秘密を勝手に話されて、本当に嫌だった。
himitsu o katte ni hanasarete, hontō ni iya datta
Someone told my secret without asking, and I really hated it.
How this differs from English
English speakers, having drilled 買って, 飲んで, and 書いて, develop a reflex that "godan verbs transform" — and then over-apply it, inventing a change for す that does not exist. The mental correction is to trust the sound: し sits happily before て, so no repair is needed. Treat 話して, 貸して, and 消して as the most stable, predictable verb forms you will build, and let that stability free your attention for the trickier groups.
Common mistakes
❌ 先生ともっと話って、質問した。
sensei to motto hanatte, shitsumon shita
Incorrect — す never doubles into って; that belongs to the う・つ・る group.
✅ 先生ともっと話して、質問した。
sensei to motto hanashite, shitsumon shita
I talked more with the teacher and asked my question.
❌ 恥ずかしくて誰にも話しない。
hazukashikute dare ni mo hanashinai
Incorrect — the negative uses the あ-row 話さ, not the い-row ます-stem 話し.
✅ 恥ずかしくて誰にも話さない。
hazukashikute dare ni mo hanasanai
It's embarrassing, so I won't tell anyone.
❌ 弟に自転車を貸しで、僕は歩いた。
otōto ni jitensha o kashide, boku wa aruita
Incorrect — す is unvoiced, so the connector stays て, never で.
✅ 弟に自転車を貸して、僕は歩いた。
otōto ni jitensha o kashite, boku wa aruita
I lent my bike to my little brother and walked.
❌ 会議で意見を話さされた。
kaigi de iken o hanasasareta
Incorrect — す-verbs have no contracted causative-passive; use the full 話させられた.
✅ 会議で意見を話させられた。
kaigi de iken o hanasaserareta
I was forced to give my opinion at the meeting.
The signature error of this group is inventing a sound-change that isn't there (×話って) or voicing a connector that shouldn't be voiced (×貸しで). す stays calm; let it.
Key takeaways
- 話す is the model godan -す verb — the only godan group with no 音便 in the te-form or past.
- Te-form / past = 話して ／ 話した: just the ます-stem 話し + て／た. No doubling, no softening, no voicing.
- Unique shortcut: for す-verbs, te-form = polite form minus ます, plus て (話します → 話して).
- す-verbs have no contracted causative-passive — only 話させられる, never ×話さされる.
- Common -す verbs: 話す, 貸す, 返す, 消す, 押す, 出す, 探す, 直す, 渡す, 足す — all take して／した.
Now practice Japanese
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Start learning Japanese→Related Topics
- 五段 Verbs: Class OverviewN5 — The canonical paradigm reference for the 五段 (godan / Type-1 / consonant-stem) class — the nine dictionary endings and the single mechanism behind every form: sliding the final kana across the あ・い・う・え・お rows.
- te/ta Sound-Change (音便) Master ChartN4 — The definitive euphonic-change reference: every verb ending mapped to its te and た form, with the three 音便 types, the voicing rule, and the single 行く exception.
- ます-Form: Conjugation TableN5 — The complete polite ます-family across every verb class — present, negative, past, past-negative, and volitional — all built on the い-row 連用形 stem.