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Lesson 187: The Plain Form V: Past Tense Adjectival Sentences
Making a past tense adjectival sentence in the plain form varies by whether the adjective is an い-adjective or a な-adjective.
For い-adjectives the final です is simply dropped after the -かった ending.
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| The meal was unpalatable. |
食事はまずかった。 syokuzi ha mazukatta. |
| Your answer was not correct. |
あなたの答えは正しくなかった。 anata no kotae ha tadasiku nakatta. |
For な-adjectives, the adjective is followed by the plain past form of the copula, だった. And for the negative form, we drop the polite です after じゃ なかった.
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| Mary liked it very much. |
メアリーさんはとても好きだった。 mearii san ha totemo suki datta. |
| The library was not quiet. |
図書館は静かじゃなかった。 tosyokan ha sizuka zya nakatta. |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| unpalatable |
まずい mazui |
| meal |
食事 syokuzi |
| The meal was unpalatable. |
食事はまずかった。 syokuzi ha mazukatta. |
| correct; right |
正しい tadasii |
| Your answer was not correct. |
あなたの答えは正しくなかった。 anata no kotae ha tadasiku nakatta. |
| Mary |
メアリー mearii |
| Mary liked it very much. |
メアリーさんはとても好きだった。 mearii san ha totemo suki datta. |
| quiet |
静か sizuka |
| The library was not quiet. |
図書館は静かじゃなかった。 tosyokan ha sizuka zya nakatta. |
| air |
空気 kuuki |
| The air was not clean. |
空気はきれいじゃなかった。 kuuki ha kirei zya nakatta. |
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