The plain form of the past tense is called the た-form. To convert a verb to the た-form is the identical procedure you learned for the て-form, except that instead of using て/で as the final syllable, you use た/だ.
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| I went to Japan to study Japanese. | 日本 へ 日本語 を 勉強し に 行った。nihon e nihongo o benkyoushi ni itta. |
| I returned home after school finished. | 学校 が 終わって から、 家 に 帰った。gakkou ga owatte kara, ie ni kaetta. |
To make a plain negative past sentence take the present tense negative and replace the ない ending with なかった.
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| I am sorry (but), I didn't know the answer. | すみません が、 答え を 知らなかった。sumimasen ga, kotae o shiranakatta. |
| He didn't sing (my) favorite song. | 彼 は 大好きな 歌 を 歌わなかった。kare wa daisukina uta o utawanakatta. |
