Review the Japanese te-form: groups, sound changes, and use

Confirm the verb group before forming the te-form

The verb te-form supports constructions such as てください, ています, and てもいいです and can connect actions. It is not inherently past or polite. Write the dictionary form, group, and te-form, then use a complete sentence. Removing ます and adding て is not a rule for every verb.

Group 2, or ichidan, verbs often end in an iru/eru sound, but 帰る, 入る, and 走る are common Group 1, or godan, verbs. Final る alone does not identify the group. Check uncertain words in a dictionary or lesson list. Group 3 contains irregular する and 来る, including combinations such as 勉強する.

Practice Group 1 by dictionary-form endings

Once the verb is confirmed as Group 1, choose the rule by its final kana. Start with a representative pair, pronounce both forms, and distinguish small っ, ん, and て versus で before adding words. 行く is a common exception despite its く ending: 行って, not 行いて.

Do not apply 書く’s ending to 泳ぐ, or treat 帰る as Group 2 to produce 帰て. These are verb rules; adjective and noun connections are separate topics.

• う／つ／る → って: 買う→買って; 待つ→待って; 帰る→帰って.
• む／ぶ／ぬ → んで: 読む→読んで; 遊ぶ→遊んで; 死ぬ→死んで.
• く → いて: 書く→書いて; ぐ → いで: 泳ぐ→泳いで.
• す → して: 話す→話して. Remember separately: 行く→行って.

Drop る in Group 2; learn Group 3 separately

For Group 2, remove final る and add て: 食べる→食べて, 見る→見て, 起きる→起きて. A known Group 1 verb follows Group 1 even if it ends in る. Group identification precedes conjugation rather than being inferred from a guessed answer.

する becomes して; 来る（くる） becomes 来て（きて）. The character remains but the reading changes from ku to ki. 勉強する becomes 勉強して. Say the reading as well as writing the form, so that written 来て does not remain incorrectly pronounced “kute.”

Use one form for different tasks

Practice a request, an ongoing action, and a sequence. 「窓を閉めてください。」 means “Please close the window”; 「窓を閉めています。」 can describe the window-closing action in progress in an appropriate context. What follows the te-form determines the full construction. The te-form alone does not mean “currently doing.”

In 「朝ご飯を食べて、駅に行きました。」 (I ate breakfast and went to the station), the final 行きました supplies past tense; 食べて itself is not a past form. Te connections can also express coordination or manner, not always sequence. Begin with clear daily steps and check the context.

Group, conjugate, then make a sentence

In five minutes, take six lesson verbs: note dictionary form and group, cover the answer, produce the te-form, and make a sentence. Retest the next day and label errors as group, sound change, reading, or following construction. A mnemonic without group checks readily confuses 帰る and 食べる.

Our verified Minna Beginner Lesson 14 includes てください and ています. The original tasks below test ru-ending groups, 行く, and 来る’s reading. Nihongo Desk does not score speech; compare your reading with matching audio and seek separate feedback when needed.