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Lesson 17. The Complete Guide to Verb TO BE in Japanese

To Be in Japanese
To Be in Japanese

です (desu), which is a polite speech marker, works like the present affirmative version of the copula in Japanese. It has the closest meaning of the verb ‘to be’ or the dummy subject ‘it is’ in English. Let’s learn about ways to express です (desu), in polite and plain forms, and also present and past tenses!

 

Polite Form Plain Form Translation
Positive, Present です

(desu)

(da)

am, is, are
Positive, Past でした

(deshita)

だった

(datta)

was, were
Negative, Present ではありません

(dewa arimasen)

じゃありません

(ja arimasen)

ではない

(dewa nai)

じゃない

(ja nai)

am not, is not, are not
Negative, Past ではありませんでした

(dewa arimasen deshita)

じゃありませんでした

(ja arimasen deshita)

ではなかった

(dewa nakatta)

じゃなかった

(ja nakatta)

was not, were not

Note: では (dewa) sounds more formal than じゃ (ja). In daily conversation, Japanese use じゃ (ja) most of the time.

 

Even though です (desu) is always placed at the end of the sentence, it does not mean that です (desu) marks the end of a sentence. Remember that the word order of the complete sentence in Japanese is:

Structure: Subject + Object + Verb

 

Examples:

彼は医者です。

Kare wa isha desu.

He is a doctor.

 

彼は左利きだ。

Kare wa hidari kiki da.

He is left-handed.

 

昔、ここは学校でした。

Mukashi, koko wa gakkō deshita.

Once upon a time, it was a school.

 

今朝はマイナス4度だった。

Kesa wa mainasu yon-do datta.

It was 4 degrees below zero (-4o) this morning.

 

これらはアリではありません。

Korera wa ari dewa arimasen.

These are not ants.

 

あの人は社長じゃありません。

Ano hito wa shachō ja arimasen.

That man is not the president.

 

これは演劇ではない。

Kore wa engeki dewa nai.

This is not a theater.

 

一人じゃない。

Hitori ja nai.

(You) are not alone.

 

やっぱり手紙ではありませんでした。

Yappari tegami dewa arimasen deshita.

As I expected, it was not a letter.

 

そのシャツはきれいじゃありませんでした。

Sono shatsu wa kirei ja arimasen deshita.

That shirt was not clean.

 

彼らは幸せではなかった。

Karera wa shiawase dewa nakatta.

They were not happy.

 

それは簡単じゃなかった。

Sore wa kantan ja nakatta.

That was not easy.

 

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