Godan verbs ending in す form the te-form as して: 話す (hanasu) → 話して (hanashite). This is the calmest corner of the entire godan system. Where the other groups double their consonant, nasalize, or soften to a vowel, す-verbs do nothing — no 促音便, no イ音便, no voicing. You simply swap す for して. If a group can be called "regular," it is this one.
The rule in one line
Change the final す to して.
| Dictionary form | te-form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 話す (to speak) | 話して | hanasu → hanashite |
| 貸す (to lend) | 貸して | kasu → kashite |
| 返す (to return / give back) | 返して | kaesu → kaeshite |
| 消す (to turn off / erase) | 消して | kesu → keshite |
| 押す (to push) | 押して | osu → oshite |
| 出す (to take out / submit) | 出して | dasu → dashite |
| 探す (to look for) | 探して | sagasu → sagashite |
| 直す (to fix) | 直して | naosu → naoshite |
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.
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?
このボタンを押して、少し待ってください。
kono botan o oshite, sukoshi matte kudasai
Press this button and wait a moment.
Why nothing happens
The euphonic changes (onbin) that reshape the other godan groups exist to smooth an awkward consonant cluster before て. But す was never awkward. Historically the te-form attaches to the ます-stem (連用形), and for a す-verb that stem already ends in し: 話す → 話し. Attach て directly — 話し + て = 話して — and it comes out perfectly pronounceable with no adjustment needed. There is simply nothing to fix, so the language leaves it alone.
This is worth saying plainly because it prevents the classic mistake: learners who have just drilled 買って, 飲んで, and 書いて start expecting every godan verb to transform, and they "helpfully" apply a change that す-verbs never take.
The shortcut: if you know the polite form, you know the te-form
Here is the anchor that makes す the most reliable group of all. For a す-verb, the te-form is just the polite ます-stem plus て. Drop ます, add 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 |
For other godan groups this shortcut fails — 書きます would wrongly predict ×書きて instead of 書いて — but for す-verbs the stem and the te-form share the same し, so the two always line up. If you can say 話します, you can say 話して without a second thought.
宿題を明日までに出してください。
shukudai o ashita made ni dashite kudasai
Please hand in the homework by tomorrow.
鍵をなくして、朝からずっと探しているんだ。
kagi o nakushite, asa kara zutto sagashite iru n da
I lost my keys and I've been looking for them all morning.
Notice that last sentence contains two す-verbs at once: 無くす (nakusu) → 無くして and 探す (sagasu) → 探して. Both behave identically — swap す for して.
Comparison with English
English speakers instinctively look for a "rule with exceptions," so a group whose rule has no exceptions can feel suspicious — surely something changes? Nothing does. The mental adjustment is to trust the sound: because す already sits comfortably before て, Japanese has no reason to reshape it. Treat 話して, 貸して, and 消して as the plainest verb forms you will ever build, and let that stability free up attention for the trickier う・つ・る and む・ぶ・ぬ groups.
レポートを直して、もう一度送りますね。
repōto o naoshite, mō ichido okurimasu ne
I'll fix the report and send it again.
窓を開けて、新しい空気を入れて、部屋の匂いを消した。
mado o akete, atarashii kūki o irete, heya no nioi o keshita
I opened the window, let in some fresh air, and got rid of the smell in the room.
Common mistakes
❌ 先生ともう少し話って、質問した。
sensei to mō sukoshi hanatte, shitsumon shita
Incorrect — す never doubles into って; that belongs to the う・つ・る group.
✅ 先生ともう少し話して、質問した。
sensei to mō sukoshi hanashite, shitsumon shita
I talked with the teacher a bit more and asked my question.
The most common error is over-applying an onbin that isn't there. ×話って borrows the っ from 買って; す-verbs never take 促音便.
❌ 借りた本を早く返いてね。
karita hon o hayaku kaeite ne
Incorrect — す does not soften to い; that's the く/ぐ pattern.
✅ 借りた本を早く返してね。
karita hon o hayaku kaeshite ne
Give back the book you borrowed soon, okay?
Nor does す take イ音便. There is no ×返いて — only 返して.
❌ 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.
Because す is an unvoiced sound, its connector is unvoiced too. Only the voiced endings ぐ・ぶ・む・ぬ produce で.
Key takeaways
- す → して. Swap す for して, and stop — no doubling, no nasal, no voicing.
- す-verbs are the only godan group that keeps the ます-stem intact, so polite form minus ます plus て = te-form.
- The rule has no exceptions inside the group.
- Common verbs: 話す, 貸す, 返す, 消す, 押す, 出す, 探す, 直す, 渡す, 足す.
- Same change as the す → した past: just swap た for て.
Now practice Japanese
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Start learning Japanese→Related Topics
- Godan く → いて (and 行く → 行って)N4 — The く te-form group: godan verbs ending in く soften to いて via the i-vowel change (イ音便) — 書く→書いて, 聞く→聞いて — with the one high-frequency exception you must memorize, 行く→行って.
- Ichidan (ru-verbs): drop る, add てN4 — How ichidan verbs form the te-form by simply dropping る and adding て — the easy class with no euphonic changes, plus how to tell them from look-alike godan verbs.
- The te-form Song: All Rules on One PageN4 — The complete te-form system on a single page, built around the classic learner mnemonic — う・つ・る→って, む・ぬ・ぶ→んで, く→いて, ぐ→いで, す→して, plus ichidan and the two irregulars.
- The Irregulars: する → して, 来る → 来てN4 — The te-form of Japanese's only two irregular verbs — する becomes して and 来る becomes 来て (read きて) — plus the compounds built on each.