PAST TENSE NEGATIVE DICTIONARY FORM VERBS
“If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” – Peace Pilgrim
This type of verb may have a really, really long name, but as long as you understood the concepts from the previous chapter, you won’t have any trouble with this one at all. That being said, this chapter will go by very quickly, and although what you are learning in this chapter is important, you won’t be wracking your brains too hard.
Past tense negative dictionary form verbs go like this:
- Figure out what the verb is in regular negative dictionary form. Take the example 行かない.
- Replace the ない with なかった.
- Stick it back onto your verb. 行かない becomes 行かなかった.
- Enjoy the simplicity of this… while you can.
In the previous chapter, we learned negative dictionary form verbs. We also learned that each type of verb (Group 1, Group 2, or irregular) had to be conjugated in a slightly different way. With past tense negative, all of that work has already been done for you, which makes this a simple case of find (ない) and replace (なかった).
Take a look at the table below to see how it’s done, step by step. You probably won’t have to go through all of them to figure out how it works (I doubt you’ll have to go through more than a couple to understand the concept taught in this chapter). It is good practice to look at the verbs in their different forms though, which will get you closer to conjugating them naturally without having to think. Cover the right three columns and see if you can conjugate them correctly on your own.
| Dictionary Form | Negative Dict. |
Past Negative Dict. |
Meaning |
| 読む（よむ） | 読まない | 読まなかった | didn’t read |
| 死ぬ（しぬ） | 死なない | 死ななかった | didn’t die |
| 買う（かう） | 買わない | 買わなかった | didn’t buy |
| 習う（ならう） | 習わない | 習わなかった | didn’t learn |
| 送る（おくる） | 送らない | 送らなかった | didn’t send |
| 知る（しる） | 知らない | 知らなかった | didn’t know |
| 止まる（とまる） | 止まらない | 止まらなかった | didn’t stop |
| 分かる（わかる） | 分からない | 分からなかった | didn’t understand |
| 食べる（たべる） | 食べない | 食べなかった | didn’t eat |
| 忘れる（わすれる） | 忘れない | 忘れなかった | didn’t forget |
| 見る（みる） | 見ない | 見なかった | didn’t see |
| する | しない | しなかった | didn’t do |
| 来る（くる） | 来ない（こない） | 来なかった（こなかった） | didn’t come |
| ある | ない | なかった | didn’t have / possess |
| 勉強する（べんきょうする） | 勉強しない | 勉強しなかった | didn’t study |
In the above table, Group 1, Group 2, and irregular verbs are all mixed in with each other. As you can see by now, as long as you know how to turn them into regular negative dictionary form verbs (and you should be able to!), then it’s as simple as replacing the ない with a なかった.
As short and simple as this chapter may be, it’s time to move on to past tense dictionary form verbs, which are probably the most difficult of the bunch (and lucky for you, the last!). No homework or worksheet for this chapter either. If you feel like you need extra practice feel free to take the list of verbs from any of the previous chapters and practice conjugate them into past negative form to your heart’s content.
Before You Move On:
- Simply remember… Change ない to なかった.
- Know how to make past tense negative dictionary form verbs
Past Tense Dictionary Form Verbs →