Welcome to the World of the て (Te) Form!
If there is one verb form that acts as the ultimate "Swiss Army knife" in GCSE Japanese, it is the て form (Te-form). Once you learn how to put a verb into its て form, a huge toolkit of grammar opens up to you.
In this chapter, you will master how to conjugate any verb into its て form and how to use six essential sentence endings tested in the Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Japanese exam: making polite requests, asking for permission, stating rules and prohibitions, linking daily routines, saying "after doing", and describing continuous actions or ongoing states.
Key Takeaway: The て form does not show past or future tense on its own. Instead, it acts as a grammatical connector or base that attaches to different endings to change the meaning of your sentence.
---Part 1: How to Form the て Form (Conjugation)
To turn a dictionary-form (plain form) verb into its て form, we look at which of the three verb groups it belongs to.
Group 2 Verbs (る-verbs / Ichidan)
Let's start with the easiest group! For Group 2 verbs (verbs ending in -iru or -eru):
Drop the final る (ru) and add て (te).
• 食べる (taberu / to eat) \( \rightarrow \) 食べて (tabete)
• 見る (miru / to look, see, watch) \( \rightarrow \) 見て (mite)
• 起きる (okiru / to wake up) \( \rightarrow \) 起きて (okite)
Group 3 Verbs (Irregular Verbs)
There are only two verbs in this group. Simply memorise them:
• する (suru / to do) \( \rightarrow \) して (shite)
• 来る (kuru / to come) \( \rightarrow \) 来て (kite)
Group 1 Verbs (う-verbs / Godan)
Don't worry if this group seems tricky at first! Group 1 verbs change their ending depending on the final syllable of their dictionary form. Look at the last kana of the verb and apply these rules:
1. Verbs ending in う (u), つ (tsu), る (ru):
Drop the ending and add って (tte) (small っ + て).
• 買う (kau / to buy) \( \rightarrow \) 買って (katte)
• 待つ (matsu / to wait) \( \rightarrow \) 待って (matte)
• 帰る (kaeru / to return home) \( \rightarrow \) 帰って (kaette)
2. Verbs ending in む (mu), ぶ (bu), ぬ (nu):
Drop the ending and add んで (nde) (notice the voiced de!).
• 飲む (nomu / to drink) \( \rightarrow \) 飲んで (nonde)
• 遊ぶ (asobu / to play) \( \rightarrow \) 遊んで (asonde)
• 死ぬ (shinu / to die) \( \rightarrow \) 死んで (shinde)
3. Verbs ending in く (ku):
Drop く and add いて (ite).
• 書く (kaku / to write) \( \rightarrow \) 書いて (kaite)
• CRUCIAL EXAM EXCEPTION: The verb 行く (iku / to go) does not follow this pattern. It becomes 行って (itte).
4. Verbs ending in ぐ (gu):
Drop ぐ and add いで (ide) (voiced!).
• 泳ぐ (oyogu / to swim) \( \rightarrow \) 泳いで (oyoide)
5. Verbs ending in す (su):
Drop す and add して (shite).
• 話す (hanasu / to speak) \( \rightarrow \) 話して (hanashite)
Quick Memory Rhyme for Group 1:
う, つ, る \( \rightarrow \) って (tte)
む, ぶ, ぬ \( \rightarrow \) んで (nde)
く \( \rightarrow \) いて (ite) (except 行って!)
ぐ \( \rightarrow \) いで (ide)
す \( \rightarrow \) して (shite)
Key Takeaway: Always check your verb ending before conjugating. Pay special attention to whether the て needs tenten (voiced into で / んで / いで) and never forget that 行く becomes 行って!
---Part 2: The 6 Prescribed て-Form Endings & Patterns
1. 〜てください (Polite Request: "Please do...")
Use this pattern when asking someone politely to do something or following instructions in an exam.
Structure: [Verb in て form] + ください
• 本を読んでください。(Hon o nonde kudasai.)
\( \implies \) Please read the book.
• 日本語で話してください。(Nihongo de hanashite kudasai.)
\( \implies \) Please speak in Japanese.
2. 〜てもいいです (Permission: "You may do..." / "May I...?")
Use this structure to give someone permission to do something. Add か at the end to politely ask for permission.
Structure: [Verb in て form] + もいいです (Question: [Verb in て form] + もいいですか)
• 写真をとってもいいです。(Shashin o totte mo ii desu.)
\( \implies \) You may take photos.
• ここにすわってもいいですか。(Koko ni suwatte mo ii desu ka.)
\( \implies \) May I sit here?
3. 〜てはいけません (Prohibition: "You must not do...")
Use this structure when stating strict rules, school regulations, or prohibitions.
Structure: [Verb in て form] + はいけません
Note: The particle は is written with the hiragana character は, but pronounced "wa".
• ここでタバコをすってはいけません。(Koko de tabako o sutte wa ikemasen.)
\( \implies \) You must not smoke here.
• 教室で食べてはいけません。(Kyoushitsu de tabete wa ikemasen.)
\( \implies \) You must not eat in the classroom.
4. て…て Linking (Connecting Actions: "and then...")
When you want to describe a list of chronological actions in a single sentence (like your daily routine), connect the verbs using their て form.
The Golden Rule of Tense: The intermediate verbs remain strictly in the て form. The final verb at the very end of the sentence decides the tense (present, future, or past) and the politeness level for the entire sentence!
• 朝おきて、朝ご飯を食べて、学校へ行きます。
(Asa okite, asagohan o tabete, gakkou e ikimasu.)
\( \implies \) I wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and go to school. (Present routine)
• まちへ行って、映画を見ました。
(Machi e itte, eiga o mimashita.)
\( \implies \) I went to town and watched a movie. (Past event, determined by 見ました)
5. 〜てから (Sequence: "After doing...")
This pattern highlights that Action 2 takes place only after Action 1 is completed.
Structure: [Verb 1 in て form] + から、[Verb 2]
• 勉強してから、テレビを見ます。(Benkyou shite kara, terebi o mimasu.)
\( \implies \) After studying, I will watch TV.
• 手を洗ってから、ご飯を食べます。(Te o aratte kara, gohan o tabemasu.)
\( \implies \) After washing my hands, I eat a meal.
6. 〜ています (Continuous Action vs. Ongoing State)
The Edexcel specification tests two distinct uses of 〜ています:
A. Present Progressive (Ongoing Action / "-ing"):
Used with active verbs to show an action happening right at this moment.
• テレビを見ています。(Terebi o mite imasu.)
\( \implies \) I am watching television.
B. Present State (Ongoing Condition / Result of Past Action):
Used with verbs of state, employment, residence, or change of condition to describe an enduring state.
• 銀行につとめています。(Ginkou ni tsutomete imasu.)
\( \implies \) I work for / am employed at a bank.
• 東京に住んでいます。(Toukyou ni sunde imasu.) \( \implies \) I live in Tokyo.
• 結婚しています。(Kekkon shite imasu.) \( \implies \) I am married.
• 車を持っています。(Kuruma o motte imasu.) \( \implies \) I have / own a car.
• 先生を知っています。(Sensei o shitte imasu.) \( \implies \) I know the teacher.
Key Takeaway: 〜ています translates as "-ing" for continuous actions (watching TV), but translates into simple English present tense for ongoing states (living, working, owning, knowing, being married).
---Part 3: Common Pitfalls & Examiner Tips
Watch out for these frequent mistakes identified in examiner reports:
1. The 行く (iku) Trap
Do NOT conjugate 行く as ×いいて (iite). It is an irregular exception and must always be 行って (itte).
2. The Double-Tense Mistake in Sequential Sentences
When listing actions in the past tense, students often mistakenly conjugate every verb into the past (e.g. ×起きました、食べました、行きました).
Correct: Keep all connecting verbs in the plain て form and only make the last verb past tense: おきて、食べて、行きました.
3. Writing the Particle は as わ
In the prohibition pattern 〜てはいけません, the particle is pronounced wa, but it must strictly be written with the hiragana character は. Never write ×てわいけません.
4. Voicing Errors (て vs. で)
Remember to add tenten (voiced marks) for Group 1 verbs ending in む/ぶ/ぬ (〜んで) and ぐ (〜いで). Writing ×飲んて instead of 飲んで or ×泳いて instead of 泳いで loses accuracy marks.
5. Confusing 〜てから with [Reason] から
• [Verb て-form] + から means "after doing" (e.g. 勉強してから = After studying...).
• [Plain/Polite Verb] + から means "because / since" (e.g. 勉強しますから = Because I study...).
Summary Checklist for Revision
• Can you conjugate Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 verbs into the て form without hesitation?
• Do you remember the exception 行く \( \rightarrow \) 行って?
• Can you ask politely using 〜てください?
• Can you give and ask for permission using 〜てもいいです(か)?
• Can you express prohibition with 〜てはいけません (written with は)?
• Can you chain three daily routine actions using て…て and put only the final verb in the correct tense?
• Can you describe an order of events using 〜てから?
• Can you use 〜ています both for ongoing actions (looking/eating) and ongoing states (living/working/knowing)?