The past form of noun-adjectives in Japanese follows the same conjugation pattern as noun sentences. This means that when expressing the past tense with noun-adjectives, you use the same conjugation rules as you would with noun sentences. This is why these adjectives are referred to as noun-sentences in these lessons.
Present
Past
Affirmative
…desu
…deshita
Negative
…janaidesu, …jaarimasen
…janakattadesu, …jaarimasendeshita
Word
Word
Meaning
ojiisan
elderly man
ikemen
handsome
mukashi
a long time ago
machi
city, place where a bunch of people are living
heiwa
peace: noun, peaceful: noun-adj
tokubetsu
special: noun-adj
kare
he
kare e
to him
kare e no kimochi
feeling to him
michi
road
fukuzatsu
complicated
shai
shy
deeto
dating
romanchikku
romantic
Expression
Kono machi wa mukashi heiwa deshita.
Kare e no kimochi wa tokubetsu deshita.
Toukyou no michi wa fukuzatsu deshita.
Kare wa shai deshita.
Deeto wa romanchikku jaarimasendeshita.
Exercise
Question
He was romantic.
The elderly man was handsome.
The hotel was not clean. (*clean=kirei, seiketsu)
Answer
Kare wa romanchikku deshita.
Ojiisan wa ikemen deshita.
Hoteru wa kirei jaarimasendeshita. (Hoteru wa seiketsu jaarimasendeshita.)
