Verb Tenses
Which Tense When?

The Non-Past Tense - ～ます Form and Plain Form
The non-past tense is used to talk about both the present (to say what someone does / doesn't do) and the future (to say what someone will / won't do). We have to use context (clues in the conversation) to know if someone is talking about the present or the future.
  • Words like いつも (always), よく (often) are about the present - what someone does.
  • Words like あした (tomorrow), らいねん (next year) are about the future - what someone will do.
Examples:
Non-past ～ます (masu) Form:
Positive:
ばんごはん　に　よく　さかな　を　たべます。
  • ​I often eat fish for dinner. (Present)
あした　レストラン　で　たべます。
  • ​Tomorrow I will eat at a restaurant. (Future)
Negative:
​あまり　バス　に　のりません。
  • ​I don't ​ride the bus much. (Present)
あした　バス　に　のりません。
  • ​Tomorrow I won't ride the bus. (Future)
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Non-past Plain Form:
Positive:
ばんごはん　に　よく　さかな　を　たべる。
  • ​I often eat fish for dinner. ​(Present)
あした　レストラン　で　たべる
  • ​Tomorrow I will eat at a restaurant.  (Future)
Negative:
あまり​　バス　に　のらない。
  • ​I don't ride the bus much. (Present)
あした　バス　に　のらない。
  • ​Tomorrow I will not ride the bus.​ (Future)
The Present Continuous Tense - ～ます Form and Plain Form
We use the present continuous tense in two different ways:
  • something taking place at the moment. E.g. "I am eating my lunch at the moment" - I'm in the middle of doing this thing, and I'm not finished. 
  • actions or situations that are continuous, that aren't finished. E.g. "I live in Tokyo", or "I work at a convenience store" - this is the situation with my life right now, this is how things are.
Forming the present continuous:
  • Use the て form ＋ いる／いない (plain form) or います／いません (-masu form)
Examples:
Present Continuous ～ます (masu) Form:
Positive:
いま、ひるごはん  を　たべて　います。
  • I am eating my lunch now. 
    ​(This is happening at the moment)
ゆうびんきょく  で　​はたらいて　います。
  • I work at the post office. 
    ​(I might not be there right now, but this is the current situation in my life.)
きょう、あめ　が　ふって　います。
  • It is raining today. 
    (This is happening at the moment.)
Negative:
いま、あさごはん  を　たべて　いません。
  • I am not eating my breakfast now. 
ぎんこう  では　はたらいて　いません。
  • I don't work at the bank. 
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Present Continuous Plain Form:
Positive:
いま、ひるごはん  を　たべて　いる。
  • I am eating my lunch now.
    (This is happening at the moment.)
ゆうびんきょく  で　​はたらいて　いる。
  • I work at the post office. 
    ​(I might not be there right now, but this is the current situation in my life.)
きょう、あめ　が　ふって　いる。
  • It is raining today. 
    (This is happening at the moment.)
Negative:
いま、あさごはん  を　たべて　いない。
  • I am not eating my breakfast now. 
ぎんこう  では　はたらいて　いません。
  • I don't work at the bank. 
The Past Tense - ～ます Form and Plain Form
This one isn't rocket science. The past tense is used to talk about actions that began and finished in the past (to say what someone did). However, if you want to talk about what someone used to do, scroll down to the past continuous. 
​Examples:
Past Tense ～ます (masu) Form:
Positive:
きのう、あさごはん  に  トースト を  たべました。
  • ​Yesterday I ate toast for breakfast. 
学校  に  行きました。
  • ​I went to school. 
Negative:
バス  に  のりません　でした。
  • ​I didn't ride the bus. 
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Past Tense Plain Form:
Positive:
きのう、あさごはん  に  トースト  を  たべた。
  • ​Yesterday I ate toast for breakfast. 
学校  に  行った。
  • ​I went to school. 
Negative:
バス  に  のりません　でした。
  • ​I didn't ride the bus. 
The Past Continuous Tense - ～ます Form and Plain Form
We use the past continuous tense very similarly to the way we use it in English:
  • something that was taking place over a period of time in the past. E.g. "Yesterday at 1 p.m. I was eating my lunch in the classroom" - the inference here is that I probably began at some point before that, I was still doing it at that time, and I hadn't yet finished. 
We also use the past continuous to talk about situations that were continuous in the past.
  • E.g. "I lived in Tokyo for three years", or "I worked at a convenience store last year" - this was the situation with my life at that time, that is how things were.
In addition, combined with words like むかし, the past continuous can be used for the idea of "used to do" such and such.
  • e.g. "I used to play netball", or "I used to go to school by bus".

​Forming the past continuous:
  • Use the て form ＋ いた／いなかった (plain form) or いました／いません  でした (-masu form)
Examples:
Past Continuous Tense ～ます (masu) Form:
Positive:
むかし  ネットボール  を   やって　いました。
  • ​I used to play netball. 
３年間  東京  に   すんで　いました。
  • ​I lived in Tokyo for three years.
きのう  １時に  きょうしつ  で  ひるごはん  を  たべて　いました。
  • ​Yesterday at one o'clock I was eating lunch in the classroom.
Negative:
きっさてん  で  コーヒー  を  のんで　いません　でした。
  • ​I wasn't drinking coffee in a cafe.
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Past Continuous Tense Plain Form:
Positive:
むかし  ネットボール  を   やって　いた。
  • ​I used to play netball. 
３年間  東京  に   すんで　いた。
  • ​I lived in Tokyo for three years.
きのう  １時に  きょうしつ  で  ひるごはん  を  たべて　いた。
  • ​Yesterday at one o'clock I was eating lunch in the classroom. 
Negative:
きっさてん  で  コーヒー  を  のんで　いなかった。
  • ​​I wasn't drinking coffee in a cafe.