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kinou ha kaisya ni ikimasen desita.

昨日きのう　は　会社かいしゃ　に　行いきません　でした。kinou ha kaisya ni ikimasen desita.
I did not go to the company yesterday.
FromLesson 2inHardcore Japanese
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Questions & Answers about kinou ha kaisya ni ikimasen desita.

What function does は serve in 昨日は?
The particle は marks 昨日 (“yesterday”) as the topic of the sentence. In English it’s like saying “As for yesterday…,” setting the time frame you’re talking about. It contrasts or highlights what follows in relation to “yesterday.”
Why is に used after 会社?
The particle に indicates the destination with movement verbs like 行く. Here, 会社に行きませんでした literally means “did not go to the company/office.” Without に, the verb wouldn’t have a clear destination.
What is the form 行きませんでした, and what does it indicate about tense and politeness?

行きませんでした is the polite past negative form of 行く (“to go”). Breakdown:

  • 行き – the verb stem
  • ません – polite present/future negative (“do not”)
  • でした – past tense marker for the polite negative (“did not”)
    Together they express “did not go” in a polite register.
How would you convey the same meaning in plain (casual) Japanese?

In casual/plain speech you’d use the plain past negative of 行く:
• 昨日は会社に行かなかった。
This drops the polite ending and uses 行かなかった (“didn’t go”).

Can I use 行かなかったです instead of 行きませんでした? What’s the difference?

行かなかったです is a colloquial “hybrid” mixing plain (行かなかった) and polite (です) forms. It’s understandable but a bit awkward. Native speakers prefer:
• Polite: 行きませんでした
• Plain: 行かなかった

Why is 昨日は placed at the beginning? Is the word order strict?

Japanese is generally flexible, but time expressions often come first for clarity. Typical order:

  1. Time/topic (昨日は)
  2. Place (会社に)
  3. Verb (行きませんでした)
    Putting 昨日は first immediately sets the temporal context.
Can I omit the は after 昨日 and say 昨日会社に行きませんでした?

In casual contexts you can drop は:
• 昨日、会社に行きませんでした。
However, omitting it makes 昨日 function purely as a time adverb, not a topic marker. It’s still correct, just a bit less topical.

What’s the difference between 会社に行く and 会社へ行く?

Both に and へ can mark direction:
• に emphasizes reaching the destination (“to the office”)
• へ emphasizes movement toward it (“toward the office”)
In everyday speech 会社に行く is more common because it clearly implies arrival.

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iedekodomo ha ie de hon wo yomimasu.panwatasi ha ie de pan wo tabemasu.asanikoohii
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Japanese verbs conjugate based on tense, politeness, and mood. For example, the polite present form adds ‑ます to the verb stem, while the past tense uses ‑ました. Unlike English, Japanese verbs don't change based on the subject — the same form works for "I", "you", and "they".

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