て-Form Foundations and Common Uses

Introduction to the て-Form

The て-form (te-form) is one of the most essential and versatile verb conjugations in the Japanese language. Often described as a connective form, it does not mark tense by itself. Instead, the final verb in a sentence determines whether the overall action takes place in the past, present, or future.

Learners use the て-form as a foundation for dozens of important grammatical constructions. In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate verbs from all three verb groups into their て-form, link consecutive actions together in chronological order, and make polite requests using 〜てください (~te kudasai).

Conjugating Group 2 and Group 3 Verbs

Group 2 (Ichidan) verbs follow the simplest conjugation pattern. To form the て-form of a Group 2 verb, simply drop the final dictionary ending る (ru) and attach て (te). For example, 食べる (taberu, to eat) becomes 食べて (tabete), and 見る (miru, to see/watch) becomes 見て (mite).

Group 3 consists of only two irregular verbs, which must be memorized individually. The verb する (suru, to do) conjugates to して (shite). Compound verbs ending in する follow this same pattern, such as 勉強する (benkyou suru, to study) becoming 勉強して (benkyou shite). The irregular verb 来る (kuru, to come) changes its reading and stem, becoming 来て (kite).

Conjugating Group 1 (Godan) Verbs

Group 1 (Godan) verbs change their endings based on the final syllable of their dictionary form. Verbs ending in う (u), つ (tsu), or る (ru) replace the final syllable with a small っ (tsu) plus て: 買う (kau, to buy) becomes 買って (katte), 待つ (matsu, to wait) becomes 待って (matte), and 取る (toru, to take) becomes 取って (totte).

Verbs ending in む (mu), ぶ (bu), or ぬ (nu) replace their ending with んで (nde): 飲む (nomu, to drink) becomes 飲んで (nonde), 遊ぶ (asobu, to play) becomes 遊んで (asonde), and 死ぬ (shinu, to die) becomes 死んで (shinde). Verbs ending in す (su) change to して (shite), such as 話す (hanasu, to speak) becoming 話して (hanashite).

Verbs ending in く (ku) change to いて (ite), as in 書く (kaku, to write) becoming 書いて (kaite). Verbs ending in ぐ (gu) change to いで (ide), such as 泳ぐ (oyogu, to swim) becoming 泳いで (oyoide). Crucially, there is one major exception in Group 1: the verb 行く (iku, to go) does not become iite; it becomes 行って (itte).

Connecting Actions in Chronological Sequence

One primary use of the て-form is to connect multiple actions into a single sentence, equivalent to saying 'I did X, and then I did Y' in English. The events must be listed in the chronological order in which they occur.

Consider this example: 朝起きて、朝ご飯を食べました (Asa okite, asa-gohan o tabemashita), meaning 'I woke up in the morning and ate breakfast.' Notice that 起きて (okite) stays in the て-form, while the final verb 食べました (tabemashita) carries the past tense polite marker for the entire sentence.

Making Polite Requests with 〜てください

By adding ください (kudasai, please) directly to a verb's て-form, you create a polite instruction or request: [Verb て-form] + ください. This structure translates naturally to 'Please do [action].'

For example, if you want someone to wait, conjugate 待つ (matsu) into 待って (matte) and attach ください to form ちょっと待ってください (Chotto matte kudasai, 'Please wait a moment'). Similarly, to ask someone to listen, conjugate 聞く (kiku) into 聞いて (kiite) to say 聞いてください (Kiite kudasai, 'Please listen').