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Japanese Past Tense

Ninth graders learn to talk about the past in polite Japanese — just change 〜ます (-masu) to 〜ました (-mashita). たべます (eat) becomes たべました (ate); the negative past is 〜ませんでした (did not).

Grade 9Past Tense55 minutes1 class periodACTFL / World LanguagesExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Form the -mashita past.
  • ✓Talk about yesterday.
  • ✓Use the negative past.
  • ✓Tell what you did.
Essential Question

How do you say what you DID in Japanese? The polite past tense is beautifully regular. How does it work?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

Japanese Past Tense Check

Project each item and have students answer about the Japanese polite past tense.

⏪ Understand the polite past tenseTry it
Answer each question about the Japanese polite past tense.
The Lesson · Language Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

55 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — What Did You Do?

6 min

How do you say what you DID in Japanese? The past tense is regular — how?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “Tabemashita” (I ate).
  • Ask how it’s formed.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Past Tense

13 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the Past Tense Check.
  • Note -masu → -mashita.
  • Note -masen deshita.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Answer.
  • Note it.
  • Note it.
3

Practice — Practice

15 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Change tabemasu to past.
  • Say what you ate.
  • Use the negative past.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Change it.
  • Say it.
  • Use it.
4

Speak — Speak

15 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “Kinō eiga o mimashita” (I saw a movie yesterday).
  • Tell what you did.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Tell it.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

6 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Form a past-tense verb.
  • Say what you did.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Form it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Intermediate-Low).

ACTFL
Communication 1.3

Presentational: narrate the past.

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: understand past tense.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.1

Compare tense systems.

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: discuss the past.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Verb transformation cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___mashita.”
  • Model changes.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with tabemashita.
  • Change one verb at a time.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Narrate your weekend.
  • Use kinō (yesterday).
  • Mix positive & negative past.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • ⏪Verb cards
  • 💻Japanese Past Tense Check
  • 🗓️A timeline
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

かこ (kako)past〜ました (-mashita)did (polite past)〜ませんでした (-masen deshita)did not (polite)たべました (tabemashita)ateいきました (ikimashita)wentきのう (kinō)yesterdayていねい (teinei)politeげんざい (genzai)present
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How do you make a polite verb past tense?
Change “-masu” to “-mashita” (tabemasu → tabemashita).
QUESTION 2
What does “Gakkō ni ikimashita” mean?
I went to school.
QUESTION 3
What is the polite negative past form?
“-masen deshita” (did not do).

Reflect: past tense.

Have students say one thing they did yesterday in Japanese (like “Eiga o mimashita”). A printable Japanese past-tense sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Japanese Past TenseFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Japanese Past TenseQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Japanese Past TensePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: 〜ました (-mashita), 〜ませんでした (-masen deshita), いきました (ikimashita), かこ (kako), きのう (kinō), げんざい (genzai), たべました (tabemashita), ていねい (teinei)
  1. did not (polite)
  2. did (polite past)
  3. present
  4. went
  5. ate
  6. past
  7. polite
  8. yesterday

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How do you make a polite verb past tense?
  2. What does “Gakkō ni ikimashita” mean?
  3. What is the polite negative past form?
Answer key — Part A: 1) 〜ませんでした (-masen deshita) · 2) 〜ました (-mashita) · 3) げんざい (genzai) · 4) いきました (ikimashita) · 5) たべました (tabemashita) · 6) かこ (kako) · 7) ていねい (teinei) · 8) きのう (kinō)
Part B: 1) Change “-masu” to “-mashita” (tabemasu → tabemashita). 2) I went to school. 3) “-masen deshita” (did not do).